Sora 100 Percent
by dude overdrived
Summary: Rikku Grayson is a carefree, cheerful and friendly girl. Kairi Dawson is a kind, slightly bipolar female. Tifa Lockhart is a mature, yet dangerously seductive woman. What do they have in common? They're all in love with the boy known as Sora Keiman.
1. Prologue: Senior Year

**Sora 100 Percent**

_Sora: What the heck is this?!?_

_Kairi: Sora, just wait and read!_

_dude overdrived: Both of you need to chill out!_

_Riku: Um, what the heck are we arguing about again?_

----------Beginning----------

**Prologue: Senior Year**

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

_Stupid alarm. I wanna sleep..._

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

_Just shut up. I don't wanna go to school._

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

_Grr..._

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

"ALRIGHT ALREADY!!!!!"

Sora jumped up from the bed. He was breathing heavily. He looked at the alarm clock that insisted on waking him up.

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

"I WILL KILL YOU!!!"

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

"Graaaah!"

In a rage, Sora grabbed the alarm clock. He held it in the air, and looked at it with an evil smile. He could no longer stand that annoying buzzing sound.

_**Bzzz! Bzzz!**_

"Die!"

Sora yanked the clock's cord out of its socket, and threw the clock to the ground! It smashed into tiny, indistiguishable pieces. Sora slowly got over his morning rage. It was then that he realized the severity of his anger. The bad news, he would have to face a bad punishment. The good news... the buzzing was gone.

"SORA KEIMAN!!!!!"

Sora winced. Meekly, he answered back.

"Y-yeah, mom?"

"Did you break another clock?!?!? I swear, I'm gonna start making you take some anger management classes!!! Now get dressed and get your butt down here!"

-I-

_Ugh, here goes another lousy day..._

Sora sighed as he walked down the sidewalk. He put his hands on the back of his head, and boredly continued on his journey.

_Another day, another school problem..._

After 10 more minutes, Sora found himself at the front of his school: Destiny Academy. One of the most prestigious schools in all the islands. Sora looked around at the students chatting and hanging out before the start of 1st period. Sora sighed again, and slowly walked towards the entrance of the school.

"Here goes another-"

"Look out!"

_Cr-crash!!!_

Sora was sent sprawling to the ground. Someone had ran into him. Papers the other person was holding were scattered everywhere. Sora groaned and rubbed his head.

"Ow..."

Sora took a look at who ran into him. She was a blonde girl, who was currently scrambling to pick up the papers she dropped. The blonde girl looked up, and saw Sora looking at her.

"Oh, Sora! Good morning!"

_Rikku Grayson... I remember when I first met you the first day of Freshman Year. We ended up being science partners, where we found we both had similar dreams. I always admired that about you, and I've always found myself yearning for your company._

"Ah, Rikku! Great to see you this morning!" Sora said as he helped Rikku by picking up some of her papers.

"I'm kinda in a rush! I gotta head over to the Biology Lab!"

Rikku accepted the papers Sora achieved for her. Just as she turned around to leave, she turned back and gave Sora a huge grin.

"Come give me a hug!"

Sora shrugged, and opened his arms. Rikku carefully set her papers on the ground, and completely wrapped her arms around Sora's body. Sora turned red, but still hugged her in return. He felt himself getting somewhat aroused, as Rikku had greatly diminished the amound of space between their bodies...

"Um, Rikku? Don't you have to get to the Lab?"

"Oh, right!" Rikku immediately got off of Sora. She picked up her papers, and began running to the school entrance doors. She waved back at Sora. "See you in 3rd Period!"

Sora waved back. He then caught himself thinking about the hug the two just shared. He remembered the warmth, the little space, the arousal...

Sora shook his head, and snapped himself back into reality. He took a look at the wristwatch on his left hand. There was still half an hour before class started.

_Why did mom make me come here so early?_

Sora exhaled, and walked into the school.

-II-

Sora looked around the area. He saw countless students, all (as usual) talking and hanging out. There were tremendous amounts of lockers on all the walls, and stairs to go up to the second floor.

_First period is in A Hall. Might as well go there._

Sora turned to his right, towards the direction of A Hall. Suddenly, after a few moments of walking. He felt strong arms come around his body from behind. Sora also blushed, as he felt heavy - **eherm... female upper chest body parts **- on his back, and he also smelled an intoxicating aroma coming from the person hugging him.

"How's my big man today?"

Sora turned around. He was not surprised to see a certain brunette there. The person smiled, and hugged him again.

_Tifa Lockhart... you transferred here to Destiny Academy the beginning of the second week of Freshman Year. Since then, you and I have found out that we share many, MANY similar interests. Due to this, we have always been able to find something to talk about. I can always be myself around you. Other than that, you also might qualify as the hottest girl in the entire academy..._

"Uh, Tifa, I'm not your man," Sora said nervously.

Tifa pouted and put her hands on her hips. "Hmph. Meanie."

"Um, it's great to see you this morning, Tifa."

"Great to see you too! Anyway, sorry, but I gotta go. My kickboxing coach is calling me over so to tell me about the State Championships."

Sora was happy to hear that Tifa made it into the State Championships. "You'll kick all their butts! You'll even beat the guys that look like Popeye fueled by a combo of spinach and steroids!"

Tifa laughed. Sora was always able to brighten up her day. "Thanks for believing in me! So, see ya in 1st period!"

Tifa hugged Sora again, and went on her way. Sora stared after her for a second, and continued to A Hall.

-III-

After a while, Sora finally found himself at A Hall. A Hall was composed of mostly Seniors and Juniors, and not a single Freshman or Sophomore dared to go into A Hall in fear of being "canned". Sora began walking into the hall, when he heard someone calling his name.

"Sora! Hey, wait up!"

Sora turned around. He saw a girl running towards him. She was wearing a pink dress, and her auburn hair was flying in the air.

_Kairi Dawson... my old childhood friend. When we were 7, you had to move away, so we could never see each other again. Then, the summer before Freshman Year, you miraculously moved back to the Islands, making me one of the happiest guys on Earth. I just know that we'll be friends forever..._

"Hey, Kairi! What's happening!"

Kairi finally caught up to him. She panted for a while, but then re-composed herself. "Nothing much. You?"

"Oh, I was just walking over here. On the way, I ran into Rikku and Tifa."

The smile disappeared from Kairi's face. "Oh."

_Shoot! Bad subject! Change the subject, fast!_

"Uh, so Kairi, you get the pictures from the trip to Nihon developed?"

"Oh, yeah!" Kairi exclaimed as she got an envelope out of her bag. "They're all right here! Including the picture of you kissing-"

"Okay, okay, we don't need to remember that memory!" Sora nervously said, reaching for the envelope.

Kairi pulled the envelope out of Sora's reach. "It's funny! I think I'll post it on my Facebook!"

"Don't you dare!" Sora yelled, starting to freak out.

"I'm gonna run to Mister Nomura's classroom and use his computer right now!" Kairi blurted as he ran away.

"No you don't!" Sora bellowed as he ran after her.

"Catch me if you can!"

"KAIRI!!!!"

_Take a look at my school life. Doesn't seem too bad, does it? Just a regular guy, in a fancy school. I have many friends, including the three girls known as Rikku Grayson, Tifa Lockhart, and Kairi Dawson. Ah, those girls... No matter what, they always end up getting me into crazy situations._

_About those girls again... I could always sense some tension between them. The reason? They're all __**immensely**__ attracted to me. Seems like every guy's dream, huh? To have three insanely hot girls chasing after them._

_The problem? __**I'm in love with all three of them.**_

----------End----------

**-Whoo, yeah! That's the first chapter for ya! If you haven't already figured it out, this story is a Kingdom Hearts story taking out 90% of the material from the manga 'Ichigo 100%'. Anyway, this was just a prologue. The following chapters will take place where it all began: Freshman Year. I'll probably update every week or every 2 weeks. High school kills. Happy reading, and please R&R!-**


	2. Let's Begin from 0 Percent

_Sora: Is the story starting now?_

_Riku: It started last chapter, genius!_

_Kairi: Shh! I want to read what happens!_

_dude overdrived: The wait is over!!_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 1: Let's Begin from 0 Percent**

"_Oh, Brian, you're just ants at a picnic! We're gonna be fine!"_

Sora sighed unhappily. He stared sadly at the television screen. Not even Family Guy could cheer him up. Sora looked around his room. He tried to find his calendar. He eventually saw it taped onto his bedroom door.

_Today's Date: __**Saturday, August 15**_

Sora felt tears come to his eyes. He shut off his television, and got into his bed. He lied down and stared at the ceiling. The blue color of the wall reflected how he was currently feeling. Sad...unhappy...alone...

Sora pulled his blankets over his head. He then curled into fetal position and stayed in the position for about 10 minutes. After that...he began to bawl. The tears flowed out of his eyes like the water of Niagara Falls. He continued crying and crying until his pillow was damp with the wetness of his tears. He then stopped and used his blanket to wipe his face. He then looked at the calendar again. The tears welled up once again, and flowed out like never before. Sora cried like a hungry baby that also had poopie.

Sora's mother, Mrs. Keiman, came into Sora's room. She looked at him sympathetically. She sat down on the bed, and ran her hands through Sora's crazy gravity-defying hair.

"Oh, baby. What's wrong?"

Sora struggled to talk through the tears. "Su...su...su..."

"What is it?"

"Su...su...summer vacation is over! I have to go back to school on Monday!" Sora blurted out. Sora howled like a wolf, and covered his blankets over his head again.

Mrs. Keiman was speechless. Her face showed a combination of a feeling of betrayal, disgust, and confusion.

"That's it?!? You're crying because you're going back to school?!? Get over it!"

Mom pulled the covers off of Sora. He was curled into fetal position and sucking his thumb.

"You're going to be a freshman! You need to buckle down! That's why your father and I are sending you to that fancy school! So you better not disappoint us!"

Sora did not answer. Although he was still upset, he stopped sucking his thumb and curled out of fetal position.

"Now, we're going to have company over here in a few hours. If you want, you can go out and play basketball, go to the mall, or do whatever you teenagers do. Just get outta bed, have some fun, and be back by 5! Understand?"

Sora sat up from the bed, and fixed his hair. He nodded and walked out of his room.

-I-

Sora walked into the General Store. He looked around the small store. It was pretty basic. There were a few aisles with certain items in them, beverages contained in coolers on the walls, and a single cash register near the front.

Sora got himself a Rockstar. He then went up to the cash register to pay for it. Just as the cashier boy was ringing his item up, someone grabbed Sora from behind and put him in a headlock. Sora felt himself being suffocated, and tried to pull the strong arms off of his neck. Alas, it was a fruitless effort. The person then released Sora and let him drop to the ground.

"You gotta be ready for anything, Sora!"

Sora looked up at the person who just strangled him. It was a boy who seemed slightly older than Sora. He had silver hair, wore a sleeveless black shirt, and baggy pants.

"Riku. I should've known."

_Riku O'Reilly. A friend of mine since childhood. Why do you enjoy messing around with me? I honestly don't see what's so fun about it. It's a wonder how the two of us could keep our bond for so long..._

"Geez, Riku. Warn me next time, okay?" Sora complained as he rubbed his neck.

Riku did not answer. Instead, he took Sora's Rockstar out of the cashier's hand.

"Hey!" Sora yelled.

"Rockstars ain't good for you!" Riku set down the Rockstar, and picked up a small tube on the counter. He showed it to Sora. "5 Hour Energy will get the job done right!"

"No thanks, man! I just want my Rockstar!" Sora grabbed the Rockstar, and left 5 dollars on the counter. Without waiting for his change, he ran out of the store. Riku chased after him.

-

"Man, Riku, I have no idea how un-upset you are right now."

Sora and Riku sat down on a bench in the park. The park was very simple. A few benches and tables scattered here and there, many trees everywhere, green fields for people to play, and a sidewalk linking the entire park together.

"How can you be so carefree right now? School's gonna start on Monday, and there's a chance that us freshmen are gonna get canned," Sora sadly said as he sipped his Rockstar.

"Well, people are gonna think I'm a sophomore! I'm 16, you know!"

"Because you failed 1st grade," Sora snickered.

"It was because of that stupid cursive writing! Anyway, I don't try to worry about the future," Riku explained. "I just think about right here, right now. Besides, I don't get the big bummer about school. Destiny Academy's gonna rock!"

Sora scoffed. "The only reason you're excited is so you can hook up with sophomore, junior, and senior girls."

Riku grinned and ran his hand through his hair. "I know that inter-grade dating isn't very common. But that's all gonna change when the ladies get a hold of this!" Riku held his arm out and flexed his muscles. "Whoo-whee! Feel that bicep!"

"No thanks, I'm good," Sora said uncomfortably.

"How about you? Aren't you interested in the ladies?"

Sora hesitated for a moment. "Well, you know, I..."

"Aw, poor Sora. We're gonna be in high school and you still haven't gotten a single girlfriend. Heck, you haven't even had your first kiss yet!"

Sora began sputtering gibberish. "Tch, buh, well, I, SO WHAT?!?"

Riku gave Sora an _I-just-pwned-you_ look. Sora groaned and gulped down the rest of his Rockstar. He then threw it into a trashcan.

"I've never had good luck with girls. I was never really able to connect with them."

Riku patted Sora's back. "There, there, good buddy. You'll get one soon. Or if you're lucky, _three_! Ha, like that's gonna happen!"

Sora gave Riku a dirty look. Riku paid no mind to it, and got up from the bench. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go play basketball! Or football! You know, manly stuff! Grr!" Riku bellowed as he flexed both of his arms' muscles.

Sora nodded awkwardly. "Yeah, good luck with that, He-Man."

A little bit after Riku left, Sora left as well. He walked away from the park and headed towards one of his favorite places ever: the beach.

-

Sora eventually arrived at the Main Island Beach. He looked around. It was kind of cold (despite it being summer) right now, so there wasn't anybody on the beach right now. It was just him. He took off his shoes, and walked over to the waters. He continued forward until the water reached his knees. He stopped, and took in the sight. He stared out into the magnificent sea. Nothing but blue wonder for miles and miles. Sora loved the feeling of the water. It made him feel free, and its blueness did not remind him of his sadness. Instead, it reminded him of his happiness and carefreeness. Sora closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. The smell of the beach cleared his thoughts, bringing him to complete peace. The torments of the world were gone. All that was left... was Sora and the water. The beautiful water...

Sora opened his eyes. He looked at the water one more time, and walked back to the dry sand. He was about to leave, but he just couldn't stop thinking of the water. He decided to stay a little while longer. He sat criss-cross on the sand, and stared off into the horizon. He closed his eyes, and stopped thinking. He was peaceful.

"The water's beautiful, huh?"

Sora opened his eyes abruptly. He looked around for the source of the voice. It came from a girl who was at his left. He looked up at her. She was a slender, curvy girl, with beautiful red hair and light skin. She wore a blue top and a purple skirt. For a moment, Sora thought he was still looking at the beautiful sea.

The girl sat down beside him. She looked into the horizon, and also took in the sight. Sora continued looking at the girl. He was curious about her. He was almost certain that he had met her before...

"Um...do I know you?"

The girl turned to Sora. She smiled. "Sora...you've grown so much since I last saw you."

Sora grew more interested. He dug into his deepest memories to remember who this girl was. Then...the answer came.

"...Kairi Dawson."

Kairi grinned, crawled to Sora, and embraced him. Sora could not believe it. It was Kairi Dawson! His old childhood friend that had to move away 8 years ago! Her!

"Kairi! I can't believe it! You're back in town?"

Kairi let go of Sora. "I sure am! And I have bigger news: I'm gonna be attending Destiny Academy!"

Sora felt his heart leap. "That's amazing! I, I haven't seen you in 8 years!"

"I know, right?!? I just knew I'd find you here! After all, you practically went here everyday back then!"

Sora laughed. Kairi laughed as well. The two reunited friends stopped thinking about the future. They were simply _in the moment._ They were living right there, right then.

-II-

"Kairi? Oh dear, it's so good to see you!"

Kairi and Sora's mother embraced. Sora looked at the two and smiled.

_Mom always did have a soft spot for Kairi._

"I wasn't expecting you here until 5!"

"Well, I ran into Sora, and he just decided to bring me here!" Kairi excitedly explained.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Wait, you two, go sit on the couch," Mom explained.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"I'm gonna run upstairs and get a camera. You two always did look so cute together in the photographs!"

"Aw, mom," Sora complained.

"Just go sit on the couch!" Mom yelled as she ran up the stairs.

Kairi shrugged and sat down on the living room couch. Sora followed. As he sat down, he saw Kairi looking around the room. She noticed the television in front of the couch, the bonsai plants, the shelves filled with DVDs, and the Nintendo Wii right next to the TV.

Kairi looked at Sora and gave him an evil look. "I totally bet that I can beat you at Mario Kart."

Sora rolled his eyes. "Ok, listen here. No one, not ONE PERSON has ever beaten me at that video game. Not even Riku! Speaking of Riku, I should invite him over for dinner."

"Oh, Sora. Don't you remember back when we were young, and I beat you at every single video game you had? That hasn't changed," Kairi challenged.

"Oh, really? After dinner, you and me! Mario Kart, Rainbow Road track! Best 4 out of 7 wins!"

"You got it!"

Sora's mom came running down the stairs again. She was holding a digital camera. She stood in front of Sora and Kairi. "Okay, you two! Smile!"

The two smiled. However, Mom still didn't take the picture. "Scoot a little closer."

Sora and Kair moved closer. Mom smiled and held up the camera. "Say cheese!"

"CHEESE!"

_Flash!_

-

It was now 7:00. Thus, it was time for the Keiman and Dawson dinner (plus a certain O'Reilly). Sora, his mom, and his dad sat at one side of the dinner table. Kairi, her mom, and her dad sat on the other side. Riku sat on one of the ends of the table, next to Sora and Kairi.

"Good to see ya again, Kaikai!" Riku affectionately said, patting her on the head. Kairi could do with the odd nickname. It was the patting that annoyed her. She swatted Riku's hand away. "Don't pat my head!"

"Sorry, Rikai," Riku said, mixing up Kairi's name. "Hey, Rikai! I think I'll call you that from now on! Cuz it sounds really close to my name."

Kairi smiled, but clear annoyance was shown on her face. "When your name is mixed up, it's Kuri, which sounds an awful lot like Yuri."

Riku nervously laughed. "Sorry, _Kairi_."

"Well," Sora began, trying to fit his way into the conversation, "when you mix my name, it's Raso, which could be either 'rash' or 'brazo', the spanish word for arm!"

Kairi and Riku looked at him weirdly. Sora gulped.

"Awkward."

"Ok, you three! It's time for dinner!" Mrs. Keiman announced.

"It's so great to see all you Keimans again. And you two, Riku!" Mr. Dawson said.

"Well, we're glad to see you again, as well," Mr. Keiman said.

"Mom, can me, Kairi, and Riku eat our dinner upstairs in my room?" Sora asked.

"Sure, Sora. Just don't spill!"

"We won't! Here Riku, you hold my plate," Sora said, handing his plate to Riku. "I'll bring the Wii."

Kairi and Riku waited for Sora at the base of the stairs. Sora struggled to bring the Wii. As the three began walking up the stairs, Kairi's mom called out to her.

"Leave the door open, Kairi!"

Sora and Riku opened their mouths and stuck their tongues out in comical disgust. "Gross! We'd never do that to her! Who _would_ want to do that to her?"

Kairi muttered to herself. _"This is going to be a hell of a night."_

-III-

The three friends carefull set down their plates of food on Sora's bed. The minute Sora set the Wii down, Kairi harshly slapped both Sora and Riku.

"Ow!" Riku screeched, putting his hand on his red, stinging cheek.

"What the heck was that for?" Sora asked, also covering his red, stinging cheek.

"You two think you're funny, don't you?"

Sora and Riku looked at each other. They then looked at Kairi. "We were just telling your mother what she wanted to hear. Albeit in an insulting way."

"Hmph. I'll have you know, I'm a very attractive young woman," Kairi said, putting her hands on her hips.

"_Self-absorbed, much?" _ Riku muttered.

"I heard that!"

Riku shut up his mouth, not saying another word.

Kairi turned to Sora. "Now Sora, I'll let you run a victory lap one last time. Go against Riku and win. If you manage to win, I'll acknowledge that you're worthy of racing against me."

Sora crossed his arms. "I'll beat both of you anyday!"

-

"Yes, yes, YES!!!"

_**sora - 1st place**_

_**riku - 2nd place**_

Sora jumped up and down. "Woohoo! Woohoo! I am the king! What do you think of that, Kairi?"

Sora looked at Kairi. She forked down the last of her food and swallowed it. She grinned.

"I'll admit, you were alright. But I'm pretty sure I'll still beat you."

Sora laughed. "You wish! Hey pretty boy, hand the Wii Wheel over to Kairi!"

Riku handed the Wheel over to Kairi, but he also noogied Sora. Hard.

"Ow!" Sora complained, rubbing his head.

"Take his ass down," Riku said to Kairi.

-

"No, no NOOO!!!"

_**kairi - 1st place**_

_**sora - 2nd place**_

Kairi grinned and triumphantly applauded for herself. Sora looked at the television screen in disbelief.

"I can't believe this!"

"Well, believe it, Keyboy," Kairi said, bringing up the nickname she used to call Sora.

"Looks like your winning streak has come to an end!" Riku happily announced. "And another note: I ate your mashed potatoes!"

"WHAT?!?" Sora jumped onto the bed and looked at his plate. Riku had not only eated the mashed potatoes; he ate all of Sora's food.

"Pig!"

Kairi began chanting a victory song. "Go, Kairi! It's your birthday! You owned him! You own him! You pwned him! Yeah!"

Sora did not want to think about his humiliating loss anymore. He decided to switch the subject. "Uh, so Kairi, did you get your schedule for Destiny Academy yet?"

Kairi stopped singing. She pulled out a slip of paper from her purse. "I sure did! What's your schedule?"

Sora jumped up from his bed and ran over to his desk. He opened his drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. He went over to Kairi, and they compared their schedules.

**Sora Keiman****: Freshman**

**1st Period: French 1 - Russeau, C1**

**2nd Period: World History - Nomura, G4**

**3rd Period: Conceptual Physics - Miller, C9**

**4th Period: English 9 - Brantford, D6**

**5th Period: Algebra 1 - Kellyn, H2**

**6th Period: PE - Rivers, Gym**

**Kairi Dawson****: Freshman**

**1st Period: French 1 - Russeau, C1**

**2nd Period: World History - Allen, H1**

**3rd Period: Conceptual Physics - Miller, C9**

**4th Period: English 9 - Brantford, D6**

**5th Period: Geometry - Jacobs, G2**

**6th Period: PE - Rivers, Gym**

"Hey, it looks like we have 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th period together!" Sora exclaimed gleefully.

"That's great! Now I can pwn you at school too!"

Sora ignored the comment. Riku then pulled out his own schedule out of his pants. "What about me?"

**Riku O'Reilly****: Freshman**

**1st Period: Spanish 1 - Russo, C3**

**2nd Period: World History - Nomura, G4**

**3rd Period: English 9 - Brantford, D6**

**4th Period: Conceptual Physics - Miller, C9**

**5th Period: Geometry - Jacobs, G2**

**6th Period: PE - Scott, Gym**

"It looks like I share 1 class with Sora, and 1 class with Kairi," Riku said sadly.

"Man, both of you are in Geometry?" Sora said with disbelief.

"You failed Pre-Algebra. It's your own fault," Riku pointed out.

"It's just... why would they put letters in math?!? Why?" Sora said dramatically.

"Guys, just forget about Sora's failing!" Kairi said, putting her arms around Sora and Riku. "The good thing is, we're all reunited, going to the same school, and going to have a wonderful year!"

The three friends laughed. It was so nostalgic. They felt like they could just be friends forever...

-IV-

"You my friend, Kairi!" 6-year-old Sora happily said.

"No, you my friend, Sora!" 6-year-old Kairi replied.

"You're both my friends!" 7-year-old Riku joined in.

Kairi put her arms around her two friends. "We're gonna have a happy life!"

The three friends laughed together. Their bonds would never be broken, no matter what.

**-And that is the end of Chapter Dos! Thank you for reading! Hope all you guys like the story so far! Another note: Kairi will be a little bit bipolar. Thanks for reading, and please review!-**


	3. Love? I Don't Think So!

_Sora: Zzz..._

_Kairi: Hey, wake up!_

_Riku: Sora's so lazy. Right, author guy?_

_dude overdrived: Zzz..._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 2: Love? I Don't Think So!**

"Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaaah! Waaaaaah!"

Sora woke up Sunday morning crying like a baby. The reason? The first thing he saw when he opened his eyes was the calendar. The date?

_Today's Date: __**Sunday, August 16**_

"It's just not fair!" Sora pouted and jumped up and down in anger. "These ten weeks of vacation went by way too fast! I don't wanna be a fershman!" Sora cried, purposely mispronouncing 'freshman'.

"Oh, Sora! Get out of your jammies and get dressed! Kairi and Riku are waiting for you down here!" Sora's mom called out.

Sora immediately stopped crying. He did not want to look like a baby in front of his friends. He threw his jammies onto his bed. He then looked down at his underwear. He took a big whiff.

_Oh, Jesus! That's rank!_

Sora took off his underwear, and then went to his drawer to get some new clothes and underwear. Suddenly, the door slowly creeped open...

"Sora, I said your friends are waiting for you!"

Sora shrieked. He stared angrily at his mother while trying to cover himself with a book. "Geez, mom! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

"Oh, don't be a baby, Sora. I've seen you naked plenty of times!"

Sora mouthed 'get out' angrily to his mother. She smiled and walked away. Sora rolled his eyes and grabbed some "new" clothing. He would have to make the most of today.

-I-

_"Oh, don't be a baby, Sora. I've seen you naked plenty of times!"_

Riku laughed and laughed as he mimiced Sora's mom. Kairi laughed along, playfully shoving Sora. Sora fumed as Riku laughed.

"Shut up. Now tell me where we're going."

Riku shrugged. "I dunno. Kairi's the one who called me, and then met up with me so we could wake you up to do something."

Sora looked at Kairi with an evil eye. "What are you planning to do?"

Kairi began looking excited. She then jumped right in front of Sora and Riku, and clasped her hands together. "Today...we're going...to go shopping!"

Sora and Riku groaned. Sora shook his head. "So typical! We have only one day left of vacation, and the girl wants to spend it doing something that she does everyday!"

Kairi put her hands on her hips. "Listen. If you guys shop with me for one or two hours, I'll buy each of you one item under fifty dollars. And afterwards, we can go to the mall's roller rink, where I'll also pay for everything."

Sora and Riku looked at each other. They sighed. "Oh, alright. Can't think of anything better to do."

"Great!" Kairi happily skipped behind Sora and Riku. She then began pushing them forward. "You guys get to tell me which shoes look best on me!"

Sora and Riku groaned even louder. They really need more guy friends.

-

"OMG! It's been so long since I've been here!"

Kairi looked at the mall entrance in front of her. She looked at the top of the two-story building. There was a sign:

**Destiny SuperMall**

_Your destiny lies here!_

"Oh, Sora!" Kairi exclaimed, turning to Sora. "Are there any new stores here?"

"There are plenty of new stores," Sora explained. "But all of your favorite stores are probably still there."

"Goody!" Kairi squealed, clapping her hands and jumping up and down. "First, let's go to 'Gotta Style'! They have the best girl clothing and shoes around."

Sora and Riku groaned in distress. They were dreading the day someone would force them to go to that girly store. "Hey, Kairi, how about me and Riku walk around while you just-"

Kairi immediately pinched Sora's cheek. Sora yelled, and put his hand to his cheek.

"If you guys don't come with me, then _you_ don't get any presents, and _you_ don't get any free rollerblading!"

Once again, the two groaned, but this time in defeat. Kairi grinned and put herself inbetween her two friends. She then put her arms around them and began walking forward. The two reluctantly followed.

-

Sora sighed. He fidgeted in the small bench that he was sitting in. He tried not to look up, so as not to see the girls pointing and laughing at him. He slowly turned to look at Riku next to him. Riku tried pulling his shirt up to hide his face. Eventually, Sora gathered enough courage to look up.

'Gotta Style' was perhaps the most boring and girliest store in the mall. No, the islands. No, the entire world! No, the entire universe!!!

Nothing but pink, red, perfume, bras, panties, and shoes for perhaps miles and miles. Sora and Riku appeared to be _the only_ guys in the entire store. There was actually a guy employee in the store, but he seemed eager to work there. Sora believed the employee was about as straight as a circle, if you get what he means.

Kairi ran over to the two guys. She was holding a shoe box, eager to try on the shoes inside.

"You guys, don't you think that these high heels are gorgeous?" Kairi asked as she took out the red, highly decorated high heels and tried them on. She posed several times, asking the guys what they thought. Wanting to get out as quickly as possible, they told her she looked great in all of her poses.

Kairi grew angry upon hearing their opinions. "You guys are just saying that so you can get outta here quicker! Well, just for that, I'm gonna take longer."

Kairi walked away to put the shoes back. As she walked away, Sora began breathing quickly and deeply. "Gu-gu-gaaaaah! You have got to be frickin kidding me!"

Riku sighed and leaned back on the bench. "Face it, Sora. This is the price of hanging out with a hot girl."

Sora was surprised upon hearing Riku's comment. "You think Kairi's hot?"

"Well, of course!" Riku scoffed, believing it was a simple fact. "Would ya look at her body? Come on man, don't you get turned on by those curves?"

Sora looked at Riku as if the perverted guy was crazy. He then turned to look at Kairi, who was now looking at dresses in the area behind him. He had to admit...there was some truth in Riku's words. That long red hair, the flawless skin, the curves in all the right places...Kairi was a girl that guys would kill for. The question was, was Sora one of those guys?

"Well...I'll admit, she does look attractive," Sora admitted. He then turned to Riku. "But, I don't think of her _that_ way. We're reunited childhood friends, and we'll pretty soon just become the best of friends. That's all I want to be."

Riku gave Sora a look that said that he didn't believe a word that Sora said. "Are you sure about that? Are you sure you don't love her?"

Sora grew red and became very defensive. "Love? I don't think so!"

"You think you're so funny for sticking the title in there," Riku stated.

"What title?" Sora asked, confused.

"Never mind. Anyway, I bet you think about Kairi day and night. I'd bet an entire life savings on that."

"Well, then good luck paying for college. Kairi's only been back two days. I hardly think that's enough time for me to think about her. And I would like to state once again that I am absolutely NOT in love with-"

"Hey guys! What do you think of this dress?"

Sora and Riku turned around to their back. Kairi had just come out of a fitting room. She was wearing a beautiful red sheath dress. It fit her perfectly and was not too tight. In Sora's eyes...it revealed her beauty to the entire world.

"Well? What do you think?"

Riku whistled. "I'm starting to feel glad that I went along with this."

Kairi grinned. She then looked at Sora. "What do you think?"

Sora tried to think of something to describe her, but nothing came to mind. Words would not be able to describe her magnificence. Nevertheless, Sora knew he still had to say something.

"Uh, you definitely look like one of the prettiest girls I've ever seen," Sora said without thinking. Suddenly realizing what he said, Sora covered his mouth, blushed, and darted his eyes from left to right. Riku was grinning at Sora ever so widely.

Kairi giggled and also blushed. "Thanks Sora. That's really sweet of you."

"Um, ye-yeah," Sora replied, trying to make himself comfortable. "You should buy that. You know, for fancy occasions."

Kairi nodded. "You're right! I'm definitely buying this!" Kairi announced as she went back into the dressing room.

Sora felt himself sweating. He nervously turned to look at Riku. Riku's grin appeared to have grown even wider.

"What are you smiling about?" Sora scornfully asked.

"Oh, nothing," Riku replied. He then leaned back on his seat and quietly sang to himself. _"Sora and Kairi sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G..."_

Sora resisted the urge to hit Riku. He decided to make Riku upset again. "Don't forget, we've only been here for half an hour. Kairi's still gonna make us shop with her for either another half hour or one and a half hours."

Riku stopped singing. He became glum again. "No matter how many times you deal with it, you never get used to it..."

-

After another _two and a half_ hours of shopping, Kairi was finally finished. As she walked out of her latest store, 'JC Helen's', she held seven shopping bags on _each arm_. She then handed them to Riku. "Riku, be a dear and put these in your car."

Riku grumbled and took the bags. As he walked to the exit/entrance of the mall, he ignored people laughing at him for succumbing to a girl smaller than him.

"Wasn't that fun?" Kairi asked casually.

Sora resisted the urge to yell in anger. "You said you'd only have us follow you around for two hours, not three hours."

Kairi shrugged. "I didn't know there were so many exciting new stores that were added over the years. Now just be glad that I'm done. What presents do you and Riku want?"

Sora thought for a moment. He remembered that 'GamePlace' and 'Chateau de Sports' were right next to each other. He decided to get a video game, and Riku would likely want to get something from the sports store.

"We'll go to 'GamePlace' and 'Chateau de Sports'. They're right next to each other."

Kairi nodded in agreement. Eventually, Riku came back, and the three friends continued on their mall tour. It was time for the guys to have fun.

-

_GamePlace_

"Aha! I've been looking for this game everywhere!"

Sora excitedly picked up the video game. It was a Nintendo Wii game named 'Super Smash Bros: Battle Royale'. It was the hit sequel to 'Brawl'. As Sora walked to the cashier, he stopped when he saw Kairi and Riku competing in the demo of 'Wii Sports Resort'. They were currently competing in a swordsplay game. Kairi's Mii and Riku's Mii were battling it out. Eventually, Kairi managed to corner Riku at the edge of the platform where the Miis were fighting.

"Oh no!" Riku yelled in panic.

"This is the end for you! Uppercut!" Kairi's Mii performed a harsh uppercut, knocking Riku's Mii out of the platform. The score: Kairi - Won Everything, Riku - Zip, Nada.

"Hah, Riku got beat by a girl!" Sora taunted.

"Hah, Sora got pwned by a girl last night!" Riku taunted back.

Sora shut up and got Kairi to pay for his game. The two had one more store to go to: 'Chateau de Sports'.

-

_Chateau de Sports_

"Oh man, this jacket looks awesome!"

Riku excitedly tried on a sports jacket in front of Kairi and Sora. It was blue with yellow lining. On the back, it held the symbol for the sports team 'The Olympians'. 'The Olympians' were Riku's (as well as Sora's) favorite football team.

"What do you think? Don't I look beast?!?" Riku eagerly asked as he did several "manly" poses in front of his two friends.

"Um...sure, Riku," Sora replied. This was enough for Riku. Kairi gave him the money for the jacket, and he quickly ran over to the cashier.

Kairi looked at the rack where Riku got his jacket. She saw a jacket that looked the exact same as Riku's jacket, only it was yellow with blue lining. She took it off the rack. "Hey, Sora, try on this jacket!"

"Um, I don't really want a jacket," Sora protested as Kairi forced the jacket on him.

"I know. I just want to see how it looks on you!" Kairi fixed the jacket as it adjusted to Sora's body.

"Oh, let me fix the collar." Kairi stepped closer to Sora, adjusting the collar. Sora felt his heart race, as Kairi was currently _very close _to Sora right now. Her lips were literally centimeters away from his own lips. Without thinking, Sora began tilting his head forward. But before Kairi could see what he was doing, she stepped back to look at Sora's appearance.

"Ooh, you look like such a sports playa!" Kairi said, giggling.

"Hey guys! I'm back!" Riku came back, with his paid jacket now being worn by him. Riku took one look at Sora. "...I still look better than you."

"Alright, that's enough," Sora said as he took off the jacket. "We both got our presents, and Kairi's done shopping. It's time to have some fun and go roller skating!"

-II-

Sora, Riku, and Kairi made their way to the very end of the mall. There, the roller rink 'Skates and Wheelies' was waiting for them. As they got inside, Kairi marveled at the enormous rink. It was shaped like a circle, and took up more than half of the entire area. The three rented skates and a locker, and stuffed their two items in it. They then began putting on their skates.

"You ever been skating before, Kairi?" Riku asked as he tied his skates.

"Are you kidding? I practically spent the entire summer skating up and down the streets of Radiant Garden!" Kairi proudly said.

"Well, this is a rink. A lot different from streets," Sora said as he finished tying his laces.

"Get ready, boys! You're about to be out-skated by a girl!"

-

Luckily for the three friends, there were not that much people in the rink, as most kids were buying school supplies at the last minute. There was plenty of space for the three to free style.

"Woohoo! Look at me, I'm as free as a bird!" Riku whooted as he circled the entire rink. Riku was very good at inline skating. He never faltered for one moment, and did not show any signs that he was about to fall. Riku spinned and jumped easily, impressing some of the girls in the rink and sparking their interest (excluding Kairi, who was only impressed with the skating).

"Well, come on Sora!" Kairi called out as she entered the rink, spinning and circling.

"Alright, but I'm probably not as good as you and Riku," Sora said as he slowly entered the rink.

Kairi giggled. "I'll help you out with your balance," Kairi offered as she grabbed Sora's hand. Sora grew red once again, but quickly got over it as Kairi pulled him faster.

"The trick is to stay focused, yet calm," Kairi explained. She went forward steadily, yet quickly. Sora studied the movements of her feet. Eventually, he let go of her hand and attempted to go by himself. He tried circling the entire rink, but faltered several times. Despite this, Sora never fell down, and eventually was able to quickly circle the entire rink without shaking.

Sora loved the feeling of the wind blowing against his face. Like Riku, he too felt like he was as free as a bird. As he circled the rink, Kairi skated alongside him.

"Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Totally! I love skating!"

"Whoa, watch out you guys!"

Sora and Kairi turned around. In an attempt to impress the girls, Riku had accidentally spun himself out of control. He ended up accidentallly shoving Kairi into Sora.

"Whoops! Sorry, you guys!" Riku apologized as he continued spinning.

Sora and Kairi fell to the ground. Kairi landed on top of Sora. After groaning, the two suddenly realized the position they were in. As Kairi used her hands to steady herself, she caught sight of Sora's oceanic eyes. He looked so free, so inspiring, so brave. Kairi and Sora both turned red and looked at each other for quite some time. They might have stayed like that longer if...

_"Please no embracing in the rink,"_ A voice over the roller rink's PA System announced.

The two snapped back into reality. Kairi struggled to get up, and awkwardly helped Sora get back up as well. They looked over at Riku, who was clutching his stomach, pointing at Sora and Kairi and laughing like a hyena.

"Sora, you're supposed to do it in bed, not a roller rink!" Riku cackled.

The girl and the boy grew angry. They looked at each other and nodded. They then turned to Riku and quickly skated over to him.

Riku stopped laughing. "Uh, guys, what're you gonna-"

_P-p-push!_

Sora and Kairi pushed Riku with all their might. Riku yelped, and once again began spinning out of control. He was heading for the group of girls from earlier. He tried to stop, but ended up running into one of them. He fell on top of the girl, and accidentally did something very embarrasing: he accidentally **groped her breasts.**

"Eeeeeeek! Pervert!"

All the girls began yelling at Riku. He was helpless to stop them. The girls started beating the crap out of him, completely ignoring his cries of pain. Sora and Kairi pointed at him and laughed the hardest that they had ever laughed.

-III-

Riku drove Sora and Kairi back to Sora's house, as Kairi was going to have dinner with them again. The two eagerly got out of Riku's car.

"That sure was fun! Wasn't it, Riku?"

Riku turned and looked at the two. Sora stifled a laugh. The beating had caused him to get two black eyes, some of his hair torn out, bruises all over his face and arms, and puffy lips. Sora covered his mouth in an attempt to refrain from bursting out loud in laughter.

"Haha, vry fnny," Riku said through puffy lips.

Kairi waved good bye to Riku. "That was fun, Riku! Thanks for driving us!"

Riku did not answer, and quickly drove out of Sora's street. Sora and Kairi looked at each other, and laughed again. As the laughter eventually ceased, Sora began to say something.

"...Kairi, this morning, I was really depressed about having to go back to school tomorow. But now that I have knowledge that you are going to my school, I know that we're gonna have a lot of fun. I'm done being depressed."

Kairi smiled. "Sora, that really means a lot. I'm sure school will be great, too! Plus, along with Riku, I just know that we're gonna make tons of new friends that we'll have many adventures with!"

"Oh, yeah!"

They laughed one more time, and Kairi went on ahead into Sora's house. Sora stared after her. His view on school life had grown positive, and he was ready for whatever challenges awaited him.

_It's time for high school! My journey shall begin! Starting point: 1 percent!_

----------End----------

**-Another chapter complete! I'm so glad that I'm finally able to put this idea in writing! It's been in my head for so long, but I've never done anything about it! Anyway, next chapter, we will finally meet some of our favorite Final Fantasy characters! Once again, R&R!-**


	4. 2 Rikus? Or 1 Rikku?

_Rikku: What's up, guys?_

_Sora: Who the heck are you?_

_dude overdrived: You'll find out as you read the chapter, Sora!_

_Riku: She's kinda hot._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 3: 2 Rikus? Or 1 Rikku?**

"Sora! I made your breakfast!"

Sora hopped down the stairs. No longer depressed, he was ready to start school. On his back, he carried a medium-sized black 'Jansport' backpack. He wore a green 'Vans' t-shirt, and baggy blue jeans. Sora quickly set down his backpack and sat down at the dining table.

"Here's your special annual 1st day breakfast!"

Sora looked at the plate in front of him. It certainly was special. There were four blueberry pancakes with thick syrup in the very center of the plate. On the side was a fluffy biscuit with butter spread. There were yummy scrambled eggs and crispy bacon, as well. To top it off, Mrs. Keiman set down a chocolate shake next to Sora's plate.

"Oh, yum! This looks great! Thanks, mom!"

Mrs. Keiman smiled, and went upstairs. "Put your plate in the sink when you're done! Have a good day at school!"

Sora eagerly cut the pancakes and wolfed them down. Afterwards, he hungrily chewed up the biscuit, devoured the eggs, and munched on the bacon. In four minutes flat, his entire plate became empty. Sora finished up by gulping down the sweet chocolate shake. After finishing his special breakfast, Sora leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach.

"Aaaah."

_Honk! Honk!_

Sora heard a honking outside his house. He went to the window and looked outside. He already saw Riku's car, with both Riku and Kairi in it. Sora waved at them.

_It's time to be a freshman!_

Sora hurriedly placed his plate and cup into the kitchen sink. He then grabbed his backpack, and sprinted out of his house. Kairi helpfully opened the door for him. Without a second to waste, Sora dashed into the car, sliding right next to Kairi.

Riku looked back at his two friends. "You guys ready for high school?!?"

Sora grinned. "Totally!"

Kairi gave him a thumbs up. "Definitely!"

Riku nodded. "Then let's go!"

As Riku drove off the street, he and Sora whooped due to sheer excitement. Kairi just smiled and shook her head.

-I-

"Wow!"

"Heh. This place is all right."

"Well, hello ladies!"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi now stood at the very front of the school. It was an enormous three-story building that stretched out for maybe a quarter of a mile. The very front, the 'entrance field', was the most popular hang out place. There were many trees around, and benches and tables for people to hang out and eat. However, the entire entrance was surrounded on three sides by tall walls, and the very front had a large gate that would be closed the moment 1st period began.

"Well, let's go in!" Riku suggested.

Sora and Kairi nodded, and they walked forward. The three friends passed by the other students, and entered the school that they would be attending for the next four years.

-

Sora looked around. Inside, there was a wide open hallway area, where many kids were also talking. However, it wasn't as wide as the entrance field. Ahead of him, there were walls with lockers all over them. It appeared as if every single inch of wall was covered by a locker. There were also stairs going up to the second floor.

"Where are we heading, Kairi?"

Kairi took out a map of the school. She looked at it for a moment.

"Each floor has different halls. The bottom floor has A Hall, B Hall, H Hall, I Hall, and the Gym. The second floor has E Hall, F Hall, K Hall, and L Hall. The third floor has C Hall, D Hall, G Hall, and J Hall. That's really confusing. But, it looks like the majority of our classes are on the third floor. Let's head up there!"

Just as the three began walking forward, they heard a commotion over to their right. They saw a large crowd crowding around two people. The three knew this could only mean one thing.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The friends excitedly ran over to the crowd. They managed to squeeze themselves to the very front. There, they saw a tall senior and a shorter freshman fighting. The senior had long, gray hair, and appeared very tough. He had a scar on his right eye, and was wearing completely black pants. He pockets had heavy chains in them. The freshman did not appear to be as menacing. He had somewhat long blonde hair, which was slightly spiked. He wore a red t-shirt and black pants. He was fighting hopelessly against the powerful senior.

"I didn't know that talking about your old friend was hurtful. Please don't get mad, Cloudie," the senior said in a baby-like voice.

This only made Cloud angrier. "You don't know what it's like, Sephiroth! You don't know how it feels to lose someone close to you!"

Sephiroth laughed and shoved Cloud to the ground. Cloud tried using his hands to bring himself up, but then Sephiroth dug his heel into Cloud's left hand.

"Ouch!" Riku said, wincing.

_That's gotta hurt,_ Sora thought.

"Aaaaaaah!" Cloud cried in pain.

Sephiroth did not feel any remorse, and only laughed at the fallen freshman. "You're wrong. I lost my mother when I was young. But you don't see me complaining about it! Hahahaha, you're just a little baby!"

The fight may have gone on longer, if it weren't for the principle. Everyone in the crowd moved out of way for the principle. He appeared to be an old man with short blonde hair. He had a beard, and wore a business suit. However, he had a fierce face showing that despite his age, he was still very strong.

Sephiroth took his foot off of Cloud's hand. He greeted the principle with a smile. "Nice to see you again, Principle Diz."

"Still haven't changed, have you?" The principle questioned.

Sephiroth did not answer. Instead, he gave the principle a big, wide grin.

"To my office. Now."

Sephiroth bowed to Diz, and complied. He went straight to his office. Principle Diz helped Cloud up and ordered some students to bring him to the nurse's office.

"Enough crowding, students. Go back to whatever you were doing and forget this ever happened," Principle Diz said in a very strict voice.

The students knew better than to argue with him. They dispersed, and continued with their conversations. Kairi stared after Cloud, who was being being helped by two students on the way to the nurse's office.

"Poor Cloud," Kairi said sympathetically.

"I can't believe the seniors are so vicious," Sora nervously commented.

"That's high school for ya," Riku said with a sigh. "Come on. Let's head to the third floor."

-

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were now in C Hall on the third floor. They hurried to find their lockers, which just so happened to be in C Hall as well. Sora's and Riku's lockers were right next to each other (as they had requested a month before school began). Kairi's locker was on the wall opposite the wall where Sora's locker was located. She happened to be right across from her two friends.

"And the best part is, my locker is right next to my 1st period class!" Kairi said happily as she pointed to the door next to her.

"Good for you," Sora mumbled as he opened his locker. He was disgusted by it. At the top, there were several pieces of gum. At the back of the locker, there was a message written in marker:

_**The Wielder must die**_

Sora ignored the message and put some extra supplies into the locker. Just as he finished and closed his locker, he heard the bell ring.

"You guys wanna talk before class starts?" Riku asked.

"I kinda want to get familiar with the classroom," Kairi explained.

"But we got a 10 minute passing period!" Riku complained.

"Next time, okay Riku?" Kairi replied sweetly.

Riku crossed his arms. "Fine." He then walked away to his own class, which was two doors away from Kairi's class.

Kairi went up to Sora. "Ready?"

Sora nodded. The two faced the classroom door, took a deep breath, and walked inside.

-II-

_1st Period: Sora - French 1_

"_Bonjour_, class! I am your teacher of _Francois_, _Madam _Russeau!"

Sora took a seat at his assigned seat. He looked around. Many of the students seemed eager to start class. Others looked like they were about to fall asleep.

Luckily for Sora, Kairi's seat was right next to his own. They chatted for a bit before class started, but stopped talking when class began.

"As a treat to you, for this entire day _only_, we need not speak Francois, and are allowed to speak English. _Just_ for this day."

Many students cheered. They were glad they wouldn't have to do anything too difficult on the first day.

Sora cheered as well. Perhaps the loudest cheerer was a blonde girl who sat two seats ahead of Sora.

"Thank you, Madam Russeau! We'll definitely be able to work hard tomorrow!" The blonde girl yelled.

Madam Russeau smiled and motioned for the girl to quiet down. "Now class, we'll have an activity to get to know each other better. Look to the front of the class."

Sora did so. There was a whiteboard, and in front of the whiteboard was a large, thin, white blind-like screen. On it, it showed what appeared to be a computer's home screen.

"My machine is projecting my computer's home screen to the screen right now. In a moment, I am going to open a page that has put everyone in the class into groups of two. You will go find your partner, and once you get settled down, you will begin telling each other about yourselves. Midway through class, I will stop you and ask individual partners to go up to the front of the class. You will then tell the class as much about your partner as you can. This activity should take up the entire class period."

The kids began talking excitedly. Sora wondered who he would be partnered with.

"And here is the screen!"

Madam Russeau maximized a tab at the bottom of the home page. It switched to a document that, like the teacher said, listed people in groups of two. Kids eagerly looked at the screen. Sora found his name, but unfortunately, he was not matched up with Kairi. Instead, it listed another person's name...

_Sora Keiman, Rikku Grayson_

Sora was puzzled. "Wait, Riku?" Sora then took a closer look.

_Sora Keiman, Rikku Grayson_

"Oh, _Rikku_. With two k's."

The blonde girl stood up from her seat. She searched the entire room.

"Where is Sora... K - _ay_ - man?"

Sora jumped up from his seat. "I'm him. And it's K - _ee_ - man."

Rikku happily nodded her head up and down, and walked over to Sora. The rest of the class got up and found their own partners. Eventually, Sora and Rikku got a spot at the back of the classroom, where they sat down together.

"You see, I have a friend named Riku, only his name has one 'k'," Sora explained.

"That's cool! I thought I was the only one in the school named Rikku!" Rikku quickly said.

Sora eyed her weirdly. "Uh, you drink much coffee lately?"

"No. Why do you say that?" Rikku answered slowly.

Sora looked at her weirdly again and shook his head. "Never mind. So, why don't you tell me about yourself?"

"If I had to say one thing about myself, it would be... 'in'," Rikku said while doing jazz hands.

"Uh... 'in'?" Sora questioned.

"I don't really have very many negative preferences! I just think everything around the world is so interesting! You could say I'm really 'in'to them."

"Um...yeah. Hey, what's your schedule? I want to see if we have any other classes together," Sora requested.

"Oh, right here!" Rikku said, taking a piece of paper out of her short-shorts pocket.

**Rikku Grayson****: Freshman**

**1st Period: French 1 - Rousseau, C1**

**2nd Period: World History - Nomura, G4**

**3rd Period: Conceptual Physics - Miller, C9**

**4th Period: PE - Rivers, Gym**

**5th Period: English 9 - Giles, D4**

**6th Period: Geometry - Daniels, I2**

"Hey, it looks like we have our first three periods together!" Sora pointed out.

"You know what class I really want to be in?" Rikku asked, somewhat ignoring Sora's comment. "Biology, or some kind of Life Science. It's my favorite subject."

"Mine is history!" Sora said. "For some reason, it's really easy for me to memorize dates. Even though I haven't had a single one..."

"Aww!" Rikku cooed. "You haven't dated a single person? That's so sweet!"

"No it's not! It's lame, totally lame," Sora grumbled.

Rikku looked at the self-pitying Sora. She then reached forward and hugged him.

Sora was surprised by Rikku's sudden embrace. When Rikku hugged him, he was surprised to feel a similar feeling that he had felt in the previous two days. Just which feeling was that, though?

Sora thought for a moment. _...Wait. Isn't this how I felt whenever Kairi got close to me?_

"You're not alone. There are plenty of people around the world who haven't dated anyone yet!" Rikku said as she released the hug.

Sora couldn't tell if that was a reassurance or an insult. "Uh...is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Rikku shrugged. "I dunno. I guess?"

Sora and Rikku talked for the rest of the 'learning' period. Afterwards, they did as told and told the class about themselves. Time had passed by quickly, as the bell rang shortly after the last group did their presentation.

-

_Passing Period: Between 1st and 2nd Period_

"See ya, Sora! I've gotta go to H Hall for 2nd Period!" Kairi stated as she began walking down the stairs.

Sora waved goodbye, and headed out of the hall. Riku eventually came to his side.

"Hey, Sora! How was French?"

"It was alright. And did you know that there is a girl in French class named-"

"Sup, Sora!" Rikku suddenly appeared at Sora's other side.

"Uh, hey! Riku, this is the girl from French that I was talking about... Rikku."

"Your name is Rikku?" Riku asked, puzzled.

"Yup! It's nice to meet you, Riku! I'm Rikku!" Rikku greeted as she held out her hand.

Riku shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too." Riku then whispered into Sora's ear. _"She's hot. Nice job."_

Sora felt his face get warmer. He ignored the comment, and the two friends (along with a new friend) walked to their next class.

-

_2nd Period: Sora - World History_

"Hello, class! I am Mr. Nomura, your World History teacher and leader of the World Cultures Club, which I will be going into detail about later this week."

Sora was disappointed to find that he was seated at one end of the classroom, while Riku was seated at the other end. However, Rikku sat behind him, so that was fun. There also happened to be an empty seat in front of him.

"Today, we will go over the class regulations. The papers talking about the regulations should have been on your desk when you came in here. Please take a moment to read over them."

Sora decided to look over the papers along with Rikku. He turned to face Rikku and they reviewed the papers. The papers mainly talked about class rules, overall information about Mr. Nomura's class, and the Academy Vision (school newspaper).

"This class looks interesting! I'm sure I'll be able to ace it!" Sora proudly said.

Rikku giggled. Sora felt pleasant when he heard Rikku's laugh. "I bet we'll both do great, Sora! So, Sora, do you like that one red-headed girl?"

Sora's face became hot. "Wh-why do you say that?"

"I dunno. I just saw you talking to her before French. You really looked like you enjoyed being with her."

"I enjoy being with Riku, but I'm not interested in him," Sora said with a laugh.

Rikku smiled a very warm smile. "What about Rikku?"

Sora felt himself stumbling with words. "Uh, well, you seem like a very, um, nice person. I, uh, think we could be good friends."

Rikku giggled. Sora felt pleasant again. "I feel the same way. I think you and I could become very close."

Sora couldn't help but feel that feeling again. That feeling of lightness, contentment, and pleasantness. Kairi and Rikku...just how were they connected?

-

_3rd Period: Sora - Conceptual Physics_

"Um, hello class. I'm, uh, very excited to meet you today. My name is Mr. Miller." Despite sounding a bit awkward, Mr. Miller did not appear to be nervous. "I'd like you to all stand up. I have a seating chart right here."

All the students stood up from their desks. Mr. Miller told everyone their seats. In the science class, the desks were big enough for two people, so everyone had partners. Amazingly, Sora ended up sitting next to Rikku once again.

"Wow, third time already, huh?" Kairi commented as she walked past Sora to her seat.

Although Kairi appeared to be joking around, Sora swore he heard some hostility in her voice. He decided to forget about it, and sat next to Rikku.

"We're gonna have fun here in science, everyone. Science is very important in everyday life. This year, you'll be taking Conceptual Physics. In the following years, you will be taking Chemistry, Biology, and full-blown Physics."

"Hooray! I love Biology!" Rikku said to Sora.

"Why was that, again?"

"Well," Rikku began, "when I grow up, I wanna work in a hospital and help 'fix' people."

Sora was surprised to hear about Rikku's dream. "You wanna be a doctor? I wanna be a surgeon!"

"That's great! We're so similar!" Rikku excitedly said.

"Yeah! I actually wanna work hard so I can get into a good university, and after that, go to 'Isla Mundo Medical School'."

"That's one of the best medical schools around!" Rikku exclaimed. She then sighed and looked up to the ceiling. "Think about it, Sora. If we both work hard, we can both go to medical school together, and we'll always be in each other's futures."

Sora happily agreed. "That would be the greatest." Sora then caught what he just said.

_Wait a minute! I just met this girl! Don't tell me I..._

-

_4th Period: Sora - English_

"Welcome to English class, everyone! I am Mr. Brantford, your English teacher."

Rikku did not have any of the last three periods with Sora. So Sora once again spent his time with Kairi. Unlike the other classes, there was no fixed seating chart in English, so they could sit wherever they wanted.

"I want us to have fun today. Everyone, out of your seats. Go ahead and talk to other students for the next twenty minutes!"

The students eagerly complied, and hopped out of their seats. Sora and Kairi went to each other.

"Hey, Sora, isn't that Cloud?" Kairi pointed to the blonde boy. He was sitting in his seat alone, his arms crossed and his eyes closed. There were white bandages covering his left hand.

"Huh. So he's in this class."

"I think we should go talk to him," Kairi suggested as she walked towards him. Sora put his hand on her shoulder.

"I don't know. That might not be a good idea."

"Well, I'm going," Kairi retaliated, brushing Sora's hand off. She took the seat in front of Cloud. He opened his eyes.

"Hello there. Your name is Cloud, isn't it?"

Cloud didn't say anything for a moment. "...Yes."

Kairi tried to think of something to say, but Cloud's angry eyes made her nervous. She eventually found herself staring at his hand. Cloud noticed this.

"I saw you and that one guy watching the fight," Cloud said, motioning to Sora. "If you're here to try and make me feel better, don't. It's none of your concern, and it's probably in both of our best interests if you just walk away."

Kairi couldn't think of anything to say. So, she mouthed 'okay', got up from the desk, and walked back to Sora.

"He's cheerful," Sora sarcastically said.

"He's hurt. That's why he's blocking everyone out."

"Why wouldn't he? He got hurt by a hella tough senior."

"I don't think it's the fight," Kairi replied, looking back at Cloud. "It's something else..."

-

_Lunchtime..._

Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Rikku sat down at a table at the school's entrance field. Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at their lunch bags with disdain.

"You, Riku?" Sora asked.

Riku looked into his bag. He winced. "Tuna salad."

"Bleh. You, Kairi?"

Kairi looked into her bag. She made a gagging sound. "Really old apple pie. You, Sora?"

Sora looked into his bag. He sighed. "PB and J and T. Peanut butter and jelly and tomato."

The three friends groaned. "We've really got to go grocery shopping more often," Riku suggested.

"Oh, boy! A huge jalapeno stuffed with cheese and steak!"

The three looked at Rikku, who was holding a rather large jalapeno that had cheese and meat oozing out of it. Kairi covered her mouth.

"How can you eat that?!?"

"How can I not?" Rikku said as she took a big bite into her jalapeno. She happily chewed a piece for a few seconds, and swallowed. The three were staring at her, waiting for her to reach for a liquid.

"What?" Rikku asked as steam came out of her mouth. She still did nothing.

"Never mind," Kairi replied, scratching her head. She then looked around and saw Cloud leaning on a wall. He was eating a sandwich and was keeping to himself.

"Hey, there's Cloud! I'll invite him over!" Kairi exclaimed as she got up from her seat.

"I wouldn't. Remember how he snobbed you earlier?"

Kairi ignored Sora and went over to Cloud.

"Hey, Cloud! We have an extra seat over at our table! You wanna come eat with us?"

"No," Cloud said plainly as he mechanically took another bite of his sandwich.

"Come on, Cloud, I'm sure we'll have lots of fu-"

"No."

"...Why don't you tell me what's wrong?"

"I already told you, it's none of your business!" Cloud angrily yelled as he threw his sandwich to the ground and stormed back into the school.

Upset, Kairi went back to her friends. She sat back down and laid her head on her arm.

"...He's not the best company," Rikku said.

-

_6th Period: Sora - PE_

5th period went by uneventfully for Sora, Riku, and Kairi. It was now time for PE. There were 4 PE teachers for 6th Period. Their classes were in different areas in the gym. All the PE teachers did was take attendance and talk a little bit about the class. Afterwards, they let the kids talk and hang out, as long as they didn't leave their area. Sora and Kairi, as usual, spent the period together. They spent the entire period standing around and talking.

"Don't you wanna invite Cloud over to talk with us again?"

Kairi looked over at Cloud, who also happened to have Ms. Rivers for PE 6th Period. He was sitting isolated, his eyes closed and his arms crossed.

"I don't wanna bother. Maybe some other time."

"So, how's Destiny Academy for you so far?" Sora questioned.

"This school's great! Everyone's cool, and the classes are awesome! Oh, and my partner in science is this girl named Selphie Tilmitt, who is a really awesome girl. She could be my first girl friend!"

"Great! And what about Rikku?"

Kairi hesitated. "Rikku...she's alright. I guess she could be one of my girl friends. Sora...do you like Rikku?"

Sora was quite shocked at Kairi's question. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Well, every class you have with both me and her, you completely ignore me and talk to her," Kairi said quietly.

"I'm not ignoring you! In French, Madame Rousseau partnered us up. In World History, you're not in my class, and we just happened to be sitting next to each other. And in Conceptual Physics, we once again happened to be partnered up!" Sora explained.

"Hm... I saw you in French. I saw her hugging you," Kairi said lowly. There was the faintest bit of anger in her voice.

_Uh oh. She saw that?_

"Uh, it was a sympathetic thing. She just found out I haven't dated a single person, and she thought it was cute," Sora said with a laugh.

Kairi did not laugh back. She just crossed her arms and looked at the ground. "It sometimes seems like you enjoy spending more time with her than me."

"Now Kairi, that's just not fair! I like spending time with both of you equally!"

"But we've been friends since childhood. You've known Rikku for five hours. Yet you say that your time with her is just as important as your time with me."

Sora grew very nervous. He did not understand why Kairi was acting this way. He thought she would have been thrilled to hear that he had more friends. However, it appeared to be the complete opposite.

"Kairi...I...I don't know what to tell you."

Suddenly, Kairi jumped forward and hugged Sora. Sora realized that this hug was different from the hugs she had given him before. This was not the warm hug that he was used to. This was a hug that felt cold and sad. Sora was confused as to why this had happened.

"We've just reunited, Sora. I don't want anything to tear us apart again. Please, don't let anything tear us apart again," Kairi said as she buried her face in Sora's sleeve.

Sora was at a loss for words. This whole business was brand new to him. This Kairi and Rikku thing...just what was going on? Sora hoped it wouldn't get worse. And before he knew it, the bell rang, and the day was over.

_Ring! Ring!_

----------End----------

**-Wow. The end of this chapter was certainly more dramatic than humorous, huh? Kairi switched from happy to angry to sad in one moment, further showing her bipolar-ness. One thing we have yet to know: does Sora not mind Kairi's clinginess, or is it a turn-off? We can only find out soon enough. Don't worry! Sora's story is not even a single percent finished! We have plenty of time to watch more "situations"!-**


	5. Rikku Plus Kairi Equals Fun!

_Kairi: ..._

_Rikku: What did I ever do to you?_

_Sora: Awkward..._

_dude overdrived: You're telling me..._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 4: Rikku Plus Kairi Equals Fun!**

-I-

_Before School..._

Thursday morning. The fourth day of school. Sora, instead of riding with Riku, walked over to school. The last few days have been really awkward. His friendship with Rikku has thoroughly flourished, and the two have been really close since the first day of school. His relationship with Kairi, however, was getting strained. He was still confused about Kairi's actions during 6th period on the first day of school. Since then, conversations between the two have been short and awkward. And the fact that he hung out with Rikku more and more appeared to make it worse. However, Rikku was not as negative.

"I really want to do something nice for Kairi!" Rikku exclaimed. She and Sora were standing by her locker in G Hall. She sounded eager to become friends with Kairi.

"Are you sure? Kairi's been acting a little moody lately, so now may not be the best time to be friendly with her," Sora pointed out, trying not to sound too uneasy.

"You don't think I know why she's acting like that?" Rikku quietly said as she stuffed a book into her locker. "I know it's because of me. Riku told me about how you and Kairi have been friends since childhood, and she feels I may be threatening your guys' relationship."

"That's just it! I don't see how you're threatening at all! I'm actually really hoping that you and Kairi can get to become girl pals!" Sora exclaimed, waving his hands in the air.

"Well, then let me talk to her. I want us to be closer," Rikku stated, closing her locker. "And...for her sake, maybe we shouldn't hang out so much for at least the rest of the day. Give me more of a chance to connect with her."

Sora nodded, said good-bye to Rikku, and went off. Rikku leaned on her locker, took out her cell phone, and began texting. A few moments later, she looked up and saw Kairi passing by. She quickly put her cell phone away, and ran over to her.

"Hey Kai girl!" Rikku shrieked, surprising Kairi. Kairi turned to see the eccentric blonde hopping to her side and putting her arm around her.

"Um, hey Rikku?" Kairi replied, sounding questionable.

"How're you doin? Walk with me, talk with me," Rikku excitedly said as she locked arms with Kairi.

"Uh, Rikku, I-"

"You know, I really think you and I could be really good friends! We could shop together, eat together, sleep over, go roller skating, travel the world, make lots of new friends, and hang out together!" Rikku blurted without losing her breath. It appeared as if the girl could talk for hours on one single breath.

"Rikku, I kinda wanna get to class, so..." Kairi said as she tried unlocking arms with Rikku. However, Rikku just locked them again and pulled Kairi closer to her.

"Did ya forget? We have the same class together! I'll walk with you, talk with you, hang out with you, and all that fun stuff!" Rikku said without a moment to waste.

Kairi couldn't help but feel a little tired. For some reason, Rikku's hyperness made Kairi want to take a nap.

"How about today, we make it all about us? Screw the guys, it's girls' afternoon out!" Rikku gleefully said.

"..." Kairi stayed silent. She was sure Rikku would just interrupt her again.

"You know, I couldn't help but feel a little tension the past few days," Rikku calmly said, getting a little more serious. Kairi was surprised to see Rikku having a 'not-hyper' moment.

"It's...complicated, Rikku," Kairi replied quietly. She was still a bit uncomfortable being around Rikku right now. Since her little incident with Sora on the first day of school, she couldn't really help but feel uncomfortable around both Sora and Rikku. And whenever she saw Sora and Rikku hanging out together, she couldn't help but feel anger and jealousy.

_Why do I feel like this? Shouldn't I be comfortable with Sora having more girl friends? I should be eager to be friends with Rikku and any other girls Sora becomes friends with. Right?_

"Well, I wanna un-complicate things," Rikku resolved. She then stopped walking and faced Kairi. "I know why the tension exists."

Kairi stiffened. Rikku had a rare moment of somberness. She appeared sad, and hurt that Kairi wouldn't accept her.

"I just want you to understand. Sora and I are friends. Just friends. He's a sweet guy, but I haven't been having any particular feelings about him. Thus, I'm no threat to you. If you want to be together with Sora, I'm not going to stop you or prevent you."

Kairi became flustered. She misinterpreted Rikku's words, and found out her real meaning a bit too late.

"Wh-what are you talking about?!? Sora and I are just friends too! I, I don't like him like that! No way, no how! Sora is _just_ a friend to me, and nothing more!"

Rikku looked dumbfounded. Kairi was confused as to why Rikku looked like this.

"I was just saying that I wasn't a threat to your friendship. I never said I thought you liked him."

Kairi gulped. She laughed nervously and shuffled her feet. Rikku eyed her weirdly.

"M-my bad! Sorry, I can be a little bit bipolar sometimes!"

Rikku continued to eye her weirdly. Kairi wiped a bead of sweat off of her forehead. She then rushed to Rikku's side and hastily locked arms with her.

"Let's go to class! First one to get there wins!" Kairi challenged, forgetting about the fact that she and Rikku locked their arms.

"Wait, Kairi, our arms are-"

Without a second to waste, Kairi ran forward in the hall, dragging the helpless Rikku with her. Rikku stumbled and fell to the ground, but Kairi was too delirious to notice. She continued dragging Rikku along, much to the amusement of the passing freshmen and sophomores.

"And people call me hyper!" Rikku complained.

-

_1st Period: Kairi - French 1_

Kairi let out a deep breath of relief. Her craziness over the misunderstanding with Rikku had ended. She groaned and laid her head on her desk.

"What's up with you?" Sora asked, scratching his head.

"Ask your blonde friend over there," Kairi said, pointing at Rikku.

Sora looked at Rikku. He then looked back at Kairi with an uncertain face. "She looks even worse than you do!"

"...Okay, never mind." The starting bell rang, and it was time for class to begin.

"_S'il te plait, _class! _Ajourd'hui_, we are again going to have partners, but this time for a long term _projet_. I shall pick a person at random, and they will pick a _associer_. The person picked must agree with who they are partnered with. No problems, _non?_" Madam Russeau announced.

Everyone shook their heads.

"_Bon!"_ Madam Russeau then picked up a class list. "_Le premier..._ Rikku Grayson! Pick _ta_ partner!"

"I pick Kairi!" Rikku announced, immediately after Madam Russeau picked her.

Kairi fell out of her seat with surprise. She landed with a loud _thud_! Some people laughed at her. Sora helped pick her up.

"_Merci! _Kairi, all you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kairi mumbled as she got back into her seat. She looked up and saw Rikku waving at her.

_Why, Rikku? Why?_

-

_3rd Period: Kairi - Conceptual Physics_

"Why did Rikku pick me?" Kairi asked, trying not to sound like she was complaining. Selphie thought otherwise.

"Why not? She wants to be friends with you, that's all! Why, you don't like her?"

Kairi hesitated. She thought for a moment before answering.

"It's not that. It's just..."

_Man! How can I phrase this so that it doesn't sound like I'm jealous of Rikku for being with Sora? Even though I'm not...?_

"...Her hyperness kind of creeps me out. This morning, she started talking to me, and no matter what, she just could not get tired of talking! Geez, I felt like I could fall asleep right there!"

"I've known Rikku since middle school," Selphie explained. "Believe me, you get used to it after hanging out with her for a couple of days. Just give her a chance, and you'll learn to enjoy her company. She's friendly, kind, and won't hurt anyone! She's an ideal friend!"

Kairi pondered. She then looked over at Rikku, who was at her desk, copying the Daily Review Question that Mr. Miller put up on the board. Sora was at her side, copying some off of her notes, since he forgot to do them. Rikku did not seem to mind.

"...Yeah. I guess you're right."

-II-

_Lunchtime..._

Kairi munched on a mozzarella cheese stick. She walked over to G Hall, looking for Rikku. She saw Rikku standing at her locker, putting another book into it.

"Hey, Rikku."

Rikku turned around. She was excited to see Kairi coming _to her_.

"Hey, Kairi! Oh, are you thinking what I'm thinking?!? We should totally have lunch together! We could be gal pals, BFF's, two peas from the same pod, what do ya say?!?"

Kairi put her hand to her mouth and yawned. Rikku looked at her questioningly.

"Are you tired?"

"No. Anyway, I want to let you know that I'll give you a chance. I want to be friends."

Rikku jumped up and down for joy, similar to Kairi when Sora told her that her favorite stores were still in the Destiny SuperMall.

"Goody! As friends, you and I are gonna do something fun!"

Before Kairi could ask what Rikku meant, Rikku grabbed Kairi's hand and began walking forward. She brought her to a door labeled 'G4', which was where Mr. Nomura taught World History.

They went inside. There were many kids, all appearing to be freshmen, standing in a line. The person at the very front of the line was signing a piece of paper that had the names of many other freshmen. This was all they appeared to be doing: signing their names.

"How is this fun?" Kairi asked, mildly exasperated.

"You and I are gonna raffle our names into the picking of the members of the World Cultures Club!" Rikku announced, punching her fist into the air.

"World Cultures Club? What's that?"

"Well," Rikku began, "Mr. Nomura began talking about it in class..."

-

_**2nd Period: Rikku - World History**_

_"Okay, class," Mr. Nomura began. He was prepared to tell the class something._

_"I want to tell you about a very special club. This club is called the World Cultures Club, which is led by me."_

_"What's the club about?" Sora stupidly asked. Everyone laughed at him. Rikku lightly chuckled._

_"Well, Sora, it's about World Cultures."_

_"Oh." Sora slid down in his chair, trying to avoid eye contact with anyone._

_"Before telling you about the World Cultures Club, let me tell you a little bit about myself. I, Tetsuya Nomura, am quite a wealthy man. The reason for this is due to the fact that I created the basis and characters for a very successful video game seven years ago. The video game was widely popular in my home country, Nihon, and many other places worldwide. I raised quite a bit of money. I made millions!" Mr. Nomura said, punching both of his fists into the air proudly._

_Everyone in the class cheered for him and clapped for him. Rikku even attempted to start 'the wave'._

_"Then two years after releasing the video game, I decided I was too tired for video games, and sold off the copyrights. However, I still continue to get royalties for the selling of the video game. After quitting, I became a teacher here at Destiny Academy. I donate very generously to the school, and provided many of the aesthetics that we have here now. Now, about the Club..._

_After a year of working here, I decided that the best way for students to learn about history was to travel the world. So, I created the World Cultures Club. The Club is quite exclusive: I only allow freshmen to partake in it, and those freshmen stay in my club for their entire high school lives. So, only lucky freshmen born in certain 4-year intervals get to join my club. Now you freshmen are lucky. The former members of the World Cultures Club graduated last year, and it is now time for me to pick new members!"_

_"It sounds really awesome," Rikku commented. "Do we really get to travel the world? And do we have to pay?"_

_"That's the beauty of it! You don't have to do anything! __**I**__ am the one who pays all the expenses!"_

_The class cheered once again. Everyone was now eager to join the World Cultures Club._

_"In the club, we take a look at World Cultures, and even partake in some of the special holidays. But perhaps the most exciting part is the field trips. Once a month, on a weekend, the members of the club and I travel to a local area not too far from the Islands, such as Radiant Garden, Twilight Town, Traverse Town, and many others. They are very exciting and fun, and are all learning experiences. Perhaps the greatest trip is the one-week trip during Thanksgiving Break. During the first week of the two-week Thanksgiving Break, the club will be able to travel to a marvelous country out in the foreign world! And again, all expenses paid by me!"_

_The entire class was now raving. Every single person now wanted to join the club. It would be an all-out competition._

_"How do we get in? And how many members are there?" Rikku asked eagerly._

_Mr. Nomura chuckled. "Out of 500 freshmen in the entire school, __**six**__ will be able to get in."_

_The class groaned. They would be at each other's throats trying to get into the club._

_"For this week and the next week, during lunch, all freshmen may come into my classroom and sign up for a chance to get in. You must have your ID as proof that you are a freshman. My computer shall pick at random six students to join. On Monday morning the third week of school, during 1st period, the picked students will be announced over the intercom. Just remember, if you do sign up, and manage to get in, the World Cultures Club will be a 4-year commitment. You will not be able to join any other clubs. We meet every Thursday and Friday during lunch, so remember about these times. So with that said, keep that in mind, and sign up! I guarantee you, if you make it in, you will have lots of fun."_

-

Kairi and Rikku were now near the front of the line. Kairi was now ecstatic about joining the Club.

"The World Cultures Club sounds awesome!" Kairi acknowledged. "I can't wait to join!"

"That's _if_ we are picked," Rikku reinstated.

Eventually, the two reached the front of the line. As Kairi signed her name, she looked at the other signatures and found some familiar names.

_Sora Keiman_

_Riku O'Reilly_

_Huh, so Sora and Riku signed up as well,_ Kairi noted.

After Rikku signed her own name, Rikku grabbed Kairi's arm, and rushed out of the classroom. Kairi yelped as Rikku dragged her along. _This_ is what she would have to deal with for the next 4 years.

-III-

_After School..._

Sora stood waiting at the front of the school. Eventually, Kairi and Rikku made it over to him.

"I don't want to go home straightaway. I wanna have some fun first!" Sora proclaimed.

"Well, I'm game!" Rikku chimed in. "Where's Riku?"

"He got in trouble with his mom after she found some girl's panties in his room," Sora explained. "His punishment? A 4,000 word essay on why women should be respected. Due tomorrow the moment the sun rises. He needs all the time he can get."

"Wow, that's one harsh mom," Kairi giggled.

"So what do you want to do?" Sora asked.

"...Movie!" Kairi and Rikku said in unison.

"Okay then! How about Star Wars?"

"Eeeeew! No way!" The two girls said simultaneously.

"How about...'The Time Traveler's Wife'?!?" Kairi excitedly suggested.

"OMG! I've always wanted to see that!" Rikku squealed.

"Oh, COME ON!!!" Sora replied, exasperated. "A chick flick?!? You've gotta be kidding me!"

"Okay, let's flip a coin," Kairi suggested. "Heads, we see the movie we want to see. Tails, we see the opposite of the movie Sora wants to see."

Without thinking, Sora agreed. Kairi then flipped the coin. She covered the coin as it landed in her hand. Sora waited impatiently for the result. When she uncovered it, it revealed itself to be on the Tails side.

"Awesome!" Sora whooped. "Now we get to see the opposite of- hey, wait! You two tricked me!"

"It's your own fault for not listening," Kairi scoffed, irritating Sora. Rikku giggled, charming Sora again.

"You can go with us, or help Riku with his essay. Your choice."

Sora sighed. "Fine. 'The Time Traveler's Wife' it is."

The two girls jumped up and squealed again. They then grabbed ahold of each other's arms.

"See, Kairi? I told you we'd have fun together!"

"You know what, Rikku? You're absolutely right!"

-

"You'll be in Theater 10. Enjoy 'The Time Traveler's Wife', _sir_."

Sora took the ticket stubs from the ticket taker. As he and the two girls walked past the ticket taker, Sora heard him snicker. Sora rolled his eyes and they continued forward.

The Destiny SuperMall Megaplex's inside was deceiving. Inside, there was one large concession stand, a lounge area, and many narrow hallways leading to the theater rooms. However, these small areas masked the enormity of the theater. The theater rooms were enormous, and seemed large enough to fit in all the freshmen at Destiny Academy. Sora always liked going to the Megaplex. However, today Sora dreaded going to the Megaplex. If he had to choose between watching a chick flick and eating his own foot, he would whip out the plate and the ketchup without hesitation.

The three went into the lounge area and sat down in the comfy chairs. Kairi seemed relaxed. Rikku seemed...well, excited as usual.

"Okay, the movie doesn't start for 10 minutes," Sora revealed, looking at his watch.

"Okay, then we should just hang out here for n- hey, Sora, isn't that your mom?" Kairi pointed out.

Sora's eyes widened in shock. It seemed like his eyes would pop right out of their sockets. Sora turned around to where Kairi was pointing. Sure enough, there was his mom, coming to watch a movie.

"Oh, crap! Quick, hide!" Sora ordered, pulling Rikku and Kairi off of their seats and down to the ground. The three peeked over their chairs. Mrs. Keiman was currently buying a ticket.

"What is your mom doing here? Isn't she supposed to be at work?" Rikku wondered out loud.

"She gets out of work early on Thursdays. But, man, why did she have to come here?"

"I don't get the big deal! So what if your mom catches you here?"

"My mom expects me to be home straight after school, and doing my homework! If I'm not, I get in huge trouble! I sometimes sneak out after school on the other weekdays, but I forgot about today! I forgot that she gets home early on Thursday!" Sora groaned, smacking his head.

"Well, at least she didn't go home straight after work, and see that you're not there," Kairi said. "And maybe we can still watch our movie!"

Sora overheard the ticket taker, who was now taking Mrs. Keiman's ticket. "Okay, ma'am, your movie is in Theater 10."

_"What is with you chicks and 'The Time Traveler's Wife'?!?!?" _Sora whispered angrily. _"We gotta get out of here!"_

Sora grabbed both of the girls' hands, causing both of the girls to blush. He then dragged all of them up, and ran with them to a hallway. Sora took a look at his mom. For a moment, it seemed like she was going to the hallway opposite Sora. However, she then turned around and began walking towards the hallway Sora was in.

"Crud!" Sora looked around frantically, still holding the girls' hands. To his left, he spotted a door, thinking it was a door to one of the theater rooms. "There!"

Sora rushed to the door, pushed the two girls inside, then went in himself. He slammed the door shut.

"Sora, you jerk! This isn't a theater room!"

Kairi told the truth. The room was the very opposite of a theater room. It was instead a tiny closet, empty of nothing except for a few rags and cleaning products. The three friends were jammed in there.

"I don't like this! The space is too small!" Rikku complained, inadvertently pushing herself onto Sora. Sora turned red, and began to sweat.

"Geez, is this room getting smaller?!?" Kairi groaned, also pushing herself into Sora. Sora began making a low moaning sound.

"Sora, stop squirming around so much!" Rikku grunted, actually squirming on Sora more than he was on her. Sora felt his hands shaking, and as if things couldn't get worse, he was getting aroused...

"Yeah, Sora! This room is small enough as it is!" Kairi yelled, the squirming causing her to "fall" onto Sora.

The girls' hands were now on Sora's chest. They were pushing themselves on Sora very hard. They also made sounds that sounded like a mix of moaning and groaning. Sora breathed faster and faster, trying to control himself. His control slowly began to wither away as he smelled the air. The girls' intoxicating aromas were slowly causing Sora to give in to his animal instincts.

_Oh, man, get me out of here! I can't take this anymore, I'm too aroused! If this pleasant torture continues for much longer, there's no telling what I'll do to these girls!_

-

Several minutes later, Sora could take it no longer. In order to stop himself from assaulting his friends, he slammed the door open, and rushed outside. He slipped and fell to the ground. Kairi and Rikku fell on top of him.

"Oh, man that was torture," Sora said, groaning.

"It's your own fault. And you know you liked it," Kairi grumbled as she tried to get up, but ended up falling again.

"Wh-What?!? I did not!" Sora retorted, his face turning deep crimson red.

"We heard you moaning in there!" Rikku retaliated, although she seemed to be joking around.

"I _moaned_ because one of you was kneeing me in my uncomfortable area!" Sora replied.

As the three continued to argue, they saw a figure loom above them. Afraid it was his mom, Sora nervously looked up. However, it was not his mom. It was Riku, sipping a soda, and eyeing them weirdly.

"Riku? Aren't you supposed to be writing an essay?" Kairi questioned.

"What my mom doesn't know won't hurt me. And you guys do know that you're in a very suggestive situation," Riku pointed out.

The three friends scrambled to get back up. Sora fixed his hair, and the girls brushed dust off of their clothing. As Sora got up, he accidentally bumped into Riku, causing Riku to let go of a small slip of paper from his hand.

"Hey-!" Riku yelled as he reached for the paper. However, Sora beat him to it. Sora read the slip of paper. It appeared to be a ticket stub.

**Theater 10**

_The Time Traveler's Wife_

Sora looked at Riku in horror. "You're going to watch The Frickin' Time Traveler's Wife?!?!?"

"I, uh, I, no way man!" Riku stammered. "I, uh, I got a date in that theater right now! She told me to go get her some popcorn!"

"Where's the popcorn?" Kairi asked, a grin appearing on her face.

Riku was cornered. He had no more excuses. "Well, I, um...ate it?"

Kairi pointed at Riku and burst out in laughter. "Riku watches chick flicks!" She then rushed to the entrance area of the Megaplex, where most people not watching movies were located. "Hey, everyone! RIKU O'REILLY IS GOING TO WATCH THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE! AND THERE'S NO GIRL WITH HIM!"

Sora and Rikku fell to the ground, practically dying of laughter. Riku ran to Kairi frantically, trying to get her to shut up. However, it was to no avail.

"KAIRI!!!!!!!"

-IV-

Kairi sighed as she lay down on her pink bed. She took out her cell phone and went to 'Add New Contact'. She added Rikku's number to her cell. She then closed it, and set it down on the bed.

Kairi looked at the ceiling and smiled. She had finally accepted Rikku, and from now on, the two would be excellent friends, or as Rikku calls it, 'gal pals'. She was no longer angry with Rikku over Sora.

Sora...

Kairi stopped smiling. She turned on her side and thought about her friend. She thought about that goofy, funny, and occasionally stupid kid. She thought about that guy who had gotten her involved in his crazy situation. She thought about that kid that she...

Kairi thought about why she was ever hostile towards Rikku in the first place. Was it really because she feared Rikku would take away her friendship with Sora? Or was it because she feared Rikku would take away the oppurtunity for Sora to tell her that he...

Kairi thought back to Saturday, when she reunited with Sora. She remembered how much fun she had with him, even more than the fun she had with Riku. She remembered about the incident in the roller rink last Sunday, and how close her face was to Sora's...

Lastly, Kairi thought about the incident in the closet again. She remembered how small the space was, and how close she was to Sora, even closer than in the rink. She also remembered...when Sora accidentally put his hand on her rear, thinking it was just the side of her body. Kairi had gasped. She had turned to Sora, but he did not seem to know where his hand was touching. Kairi had known Sora was touching her rear...but she did not tell him. She had willingly allowed him to continue. Why, though? Why did she let that happen?

_Why...Sora? Why do I get jealous when you are with other girls? Why do I long for you right now? Why do I want to feel you touch me again, in other areas?_

Kairi could not bring herself to admit it yet. Not even to herself. Even as she went to bed that night, she still could not admit it. However, in her heart, she knew it was true.

_Do I love...Sora Keiman?_

----------End----------

**-It looks like Kairi is finally friends with Rikku! If she acted **_**that**_** hostile before, I wonder how she'll feel when the third girl appears... Speaking of Kairi, it looks like she is the first one to recognize her feelings for Sora. Will she tell him yet? Maybe she will, maybe she won't. **

**Now, I'd like to speak about percentage. If you read the prologue (which you should have), you'd know that Sora's adventures continue all the way into Senior Year. This means that Sora's adventure will only become 100% complete when he finishes Senior Year. And we are currently in Freshman Year right now, so he is a **_**long way**_** from completion. Some chapters in a row may cover as little as 1%, and other chapters may take huge leaps into the school year, covering considerably more percentage. With that in mind, thanks for reading! And remember, reviews are your way of having your voice heard by me!-**


	6. The Week's End, A Battle Starts!

_Sora: Why does this fanfic have a pairing listed up above? I thought I had to choose between three!_

_dude overdrived: Don't be fooled by that pairing up above. It's supposed to fool readers._

_Riku: Uh, how is it fooling them if they're reading right now?_

_Kairi: I find this rather bothersome..._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 5: The Week's End, A Battle Starts!**

Sora and Rikku burst out of Riku's house. They were overwhelmed with laughter, and were clutching their stomachs in funny pain.

"Oh, Riku, I should have brought my camera!" Sora cackled.

"I'm sorry, but I love your mom!" Rikku howled.

"It's not funny, you guys!"

Sora and Rikku finally calmed down, only uttering a few giggles. They faced the entrance of Riku's house. They stared as Riku walked out of the house. Sora and Rikku could not take it any longer. They fell to the ground, pointed at Riku, and laughed their butts off.

"You guys! This is so unfair!" Riku complained as he flattened his skirt. Hey wait..._skirt?!?_

Sora guffawed as he looked at Riku's outfit. Riku was, for some very odd reason, wearing a purple top with a pink overshirt that said, in glittery letters, "I'm a Super Girl!" If that wasn't humiliating enough, Riku was also wearing glittery pink short shorts, with a blue skirt over them. And if _that_ still doesn't bother you, Riku's hair was braided with several colorful bows.

"Your mom is just so frickin awesome!" Sora bellowed. "It's so awesome that my mom caught you at the theater, and then told your mom, who then forced you to do this!"

"Don't laugh! You got in trouble too!"

"That's what you think! My mom and I made a compromise, and I'm now allowed to go out after school whenever I want! My curfew gets set back a half hour, but I can live with that! You on the other hand...hahahahahaha!"

"This is so unfair!" Riku groaned. "Not only is my mom making me walk through the entire mall like this, she's also bumping up my essay from 4,000 words to 10,000 words! Why did your mom have to catch me at the theater? Why?!?"

Riku dropped to the ground. He bawled over and over, albeit in a comical way. Rikku uttered a few giggles, and Sora laughed a few more times. After a while, Riku's mom came out of the house.

"Hi there, Sora and Rikku!" Mrs. O'Reilly then looked at Riku with a happy face. "Come on, Riku darling. It's time to go to the mall!"

Riku grumbled, and slowly followed his mother to her car. As they pulled out of their driveway, Sora and Rikku waved to him.

"You should buy some lotion while you're at it! Your legs are horrible!" Rikku called out.

"Well, it looks like Riku can't hang out with us. And neither can Kairi, since she's visiting her grandparents over at Isla Blanco," Sora stated.

"So," Rikku began, locking arms with Sora, "it looks like it's just the two of us!"

Sora was shocked at Rikku's sudden gesture. He made a nervous face, and fidgeted.

Rikku noticed this. "Oh, come on Sora. You see girls locking arms all the time, and that doesn't mean they're lovers!"

Sora grew quiet for a moment. He then stopped fidgeting, and relaxed himself. "Yeah, you're right. Well, how about we go to the amusement park! It's a beautiful Saturday morning after all!"

-I-

Sora and Rikku arrived at the Destiny Islands amusement park, Magic Kingdom. After waiting in line for half an hour, the two got their tickets, and entered the park.

Magic Kingdom was just like any other amusement park. Rides scattered everywhere, souvenir shops in almost every area, and food areas all across the park.

"Where do you wanna go first, Rikku?" Sora asked.

"I don't really want to go on rides just yet. How about we head for 'Green Hills' close by here?"

"Sounds good. Really peaceful, and it's just a pond-like area. Perfect for resting." With that said, the two headed over to Green Hills.

-

Green Hills was, as Sora said, a very peaceful area. There was an enormous pond with birds, ducks, and fish. There were trees scattered around the area with pink leaves, as well as yellow flowers growing nearby. Green Hills was a picnic area where everyone went to escape the adrenaline and excitement of the main park. There were also food stands nearby so no one would need to go all the way back into the amusement park.

Sora and Rikku went to the edge of the pond. They lied down and closed their eyes. They breathed the fresh Saturday air, and felt themselves flow with the breeze. Best of all, they felt the freedom from school, even though it was only for a mere two days.

"This is beautiful, isn't it?" Rikku asked, turning her head to face Sora.

Sora turned his head to face Rikku. He caught sight of her smiling face. She looked so happy. Despite this, her eyes looked so mischievous, and daring for adventure. Sora found this quite thrilling.

Before he knew what he was thinking, Sora said, "I'm looking at something beautiful right now."

Rikku gave him a weird look. Sora turned dark red.

_Oh, crap! What the hell did I say?!?_

"The pond! The pond is beautiful, I was just agreeing with you," Sora blurted out.

"I understand," Rikku replied as she turned her head to look up at the sky. Sora saw that her face was red as well.

The two stayed like that for a few more minutes. Then, Rikku got up.

"I'm gonna go get a hot dog. Want one?"

Sora nodded, and she walked away to go get two hot dogs. Sora got up and looked around the pond. More people had arrived, and they too were enjoying the peacefulness of Green Hills. Sora wanted to remember this moment.

"This peace is just so overwhelming. I've gotta take a picture to remember this by."

Sora then took out his cell phone, an iPhone. He held the iPhone like a camera, and looked for a good area to take a picture of. As he looked, he felt the wind get stronger, but he paid it no mind. Sora walked for a little bit, looking for a good scene.

As Sora was looking, he caught sight of a girl standing at the edge of the pond. She had long brown hair, wore a white and blue top, and had on a blue skirt. She was soaking in the peacefulness of the area, just as Sora and Rikku were just doing. Sora began walking forward, still looking for a good scene. But he continued looking at the girl.

Suddenly, the breeze picked up with great speed, striking Sora. The breeze was so strong, it made him turn around, causing him to face the brunette girl again. The powerful wind caught the girl as well. The girl screamed, and held down the front of the skirt. Unfortunately, she could not protect the back of her skirt, leaving it vulnerable to the wind. The wind struck her sharply, causing her skirt to lift up and reveal her delicates!

Sora was speechless. He was not sure what to do. Little did he know, he accidentally had his iPhone fixated on the girl. When the wind stopped, he looked up, and saw the girl looking at him very angrily. Sora gulped.

_Oh...no._

The girl stomped over to Sora, her face full of rage. Sora made a high pitched squeak.

"Hey, you! Just what do you think you were videotaping?!?" The brunette asked fiercely.

"I'm sorry! The wind just accidentally caused me to turn towards you! It wasn't on purpose!" Sora apologetically said.

"Oh yeah, like I haven't heard that before!" The girl then grabbed Sora's collar and lifted him up with ease. Sora yelped.

"No one messes with Tifa Lockhart! NO ONE!!!" The girl, Tifa apparently, then grabbed Sora's iPhone.

"Hey!"

Without any remorse, she faced the pond. She threw the iPhone with all her might, and it landed into the water. Apple claims that the iPhone has an app for just about anything. However, there likely _isn't_ an app that can be used to fix a submerged phone.

"iPHOOOOOONE!!!" Sora yelled in anguish. He then turned to yell at Tifa, but she was already walking away from him.

"YOU ARE PAYING FOR MY NEW PHONE!!!" Sora screamed angrily.

Tifa didn't so much as turn around. What she did do was give Sora the finger.

As Sora fumed over his loss, Rikku came back, holding two hot dogs. She eyed Sora.

"What's wrong with you?"

Sora angrily pointed at the brunette, who was now very far away. "That bitch threw my iPhone into the water!"

"Oh my gosh! I'm sorry! Do you want to go home now? I kinda doubt you're in the mood to have fun now..."

Sora turned to Rikku. His anger appeared to be gone. He smiled and shook his head.

"No. I don't want this to ruin your fun, our fun. Plus, I have insurance on it anyway. So...no prob."

Rikku nodded and handed Sora his hot dog. "Well then, let's go blow some of that steam off. How about bumper cars?"

-II-

"Ha! I just bumped you! What do you think about that!?!"

Sora gleefully and maniacally bumped his bumper car into the car in front of him. As he hit the car, he pictured the back of the other person's car as Tifa's face. Doing this, he resolved to hit it as hard as he could.

"Ha! I'm gonna hit you aga- _oof!"_

Sora felt his bumper car get hit by another car with great force. As he looked around, he saw that it was Rikku who hit his car. She smiled mischievously.

"What do you think about _that_?" She taunted.

"Oh, it's on now!" Sora replied. He chased after her, and she chased after him. It was a fun game of tag. Sora could not remember the last time he had this much fun.

-

"Finally, it's our turn!"

Sora and Rikku had finally reached the front of the line for the roller coaster, "Final Velocity". The two eagerly got into the very front of the car-like coaster. They waited anxiously as they put on their belts and harnesses.

"This is the fastest roller coaster in all the islands!" Sora commented. "It's high, too! Look, I can see my house from here!"

"I can't wait!" Rikku squealed. "But, I'm still a little nervous!"

Sora patted Rikku's shoulder. "Don't worry! You'll do great!"

After a few more seconds, the ride began edging forward. The riders put their hands in the air and yelled, despite the fact that the ride had not even reached its peak. Eventually, the coaster began going up a high railing, preparing for the steep drop that all roller coasters have. Rikku grabbed Sora's hand.

"Eek! I'm so excited, but I'm so nervous too! I think I might throw up!"

"Turn the other way!" Sora said jokingly.

As they drew closer and closer to the top, a voice began ringing from the car's speakers.

_You are nearing the drop of Final Velocity. A countdown shall now begin. 3..._

"Here it comes!" Sora exclaimed.

_2..._

"Oh, boy!" Rikku said with a mix of excitement and dread in her voice.

_1..._

"Everybody ready?!?" Sora yelled out to the other riders. Everyone cheered.

_Goodbye._

"Eeee-aaaaaaaaah!!!" Sora, Rikku, and all the other riders screamed at the top of their lungs. Sora stared down the drop. The ground appeared to be miles away, which was what made the ride so exciting. As the coaster reached the end of the drop, it sped forward at high velocity. It turned through many curves and turns sharply, causing Sora and Rikku to rock back and forth.

Rikku screamed in joy. She grabbed Sora's arm and brought herself close to him. Sora was so full of adrenaline that he didn't even notice her.

Eventually, Sora saw the next exciting part of the Final Velocity: The Quadruple Loop. They were four loops in a row, each one larger than the one before. This was Sora's favorite part of the ride.

"Here comes the Quadruple Loop!" Everyone cheered, along with Sora.

They neared the first loop. It was nothing too big, so it was finished in a mere moment. The second loop was slightly larger, but any kid could have still taken it. It's the third loop that separates the big boys from the little kiddies. The third loop was about twice as large as the first loop. However, the velocity always appeared to slow down on the third loop, so it was not too scary. The fourth loop...one word: epic. It was about three times the size of the first loop, and did not slow down at all! As Sora's car raced through the fourth loop, he felt as if he was moving at sonic speed, or perhaps even light speed! The fourth loop was the ride's 'final velocity', and the ride ended shortly after. As Sora and Rikku waited for their harness to go back up, Sora noticed Rikku holding on to his arm.

"Have you been doing that the entire ride?" Sora asked, a smile forming on his lips.

Rikku looked up at him and awkwardly smiled. "I...um...think so."

"You know, we should totally go again!" Sora exclaimed, looking at the Quadruple Loop again. He then turned back to Rikku, who seemed a little green. She then covered her mouth, and made a gagging sound.

"Uh, Rikku? What do you think you're doing?"

-III-

Rikku waited awkwardly outside the boy's bathroom. She stared at the ground and shuffled her feet. She heard footsteps coming out of the bathroom. She turned and saw Sora wearing a different T-Shirt, a shirt that said 'Magic Kingdom' on the front. Sora was holding another T-Shirt that had a rank smell and vomit on it. He threw it into a trash can.

"I'm really sorry about throwing up on you. I guess I got so nervousness and hyperness isn't the best combination," Rikku said nervously.

"Don't worry about it. I never liked that T-Shirt anyway," Sora replied, smiling. Rikku was touched by Sora's kindness. Despite the harsh things that happened that day, such as his cell phone being thrown into a pond and getting thrown up on, Sora seemed absolutely committed to helping her have a fun time.

_He really cares about me,_ Rikku thought. She felt herself blushing.

Sora took a look at his watch. "I'm getting tired. How about we go on one more ride?"

"Sure! But which one..." Rikku took a look at the map of Magic Kingdom. She searched for a good final ride. "How about the Ferris Wheel?"

"As long as you're not scared of heights," Sora joked. Rikku pouted. Sora then began running away. "I'll race ya there!"

Rikku chased after him. "Hey, no fair!"

-

Sora and Rikku got into the passenger car. As they sat down, Rikku noticed that there was only room for two people. For some reason, this made her feel content, as it would just be her and Sora.

_Just the two of us..._

Eventually, the ride got going. Sora looked around the entire amusement park as the ferris wheel got higher and higher.

"Okay, now I really can see my house from here!"

Rikku giggled. Sora laughed alongside her. The two continued talking as the wheel continued rising. After a few more minutes, the wheel stopped moving. Sora and Rikku were at the very top of the ferris wheel, overlooking the entire Magic Kingdom. Sora whooped from his seat.

"Whoo! I'm the king of the kingdom!" Sora shouted.

"Well, what does that make me?" Rikku questioned, crossing her arms.

"Well, you could be the queen!" Sora replied. "You and I could rule this place! It'd be endless fun, and it'd just be the two of us!"

_Just the two of us..._

Sora calmed down from his rant. He leaned back on his seat. He turned to Rikku and smiled at her. Rikku smiled back.

"Rikku, I enjoy hanging out with you. We just, I don't know, seem to connect. Don't you think so?"

Rikku stared up at the sky. She looked up at the wondrous blueness, the many white clouds, and the countless birds singing songs of joy. As she looked into the sky, she saw herself looking into her future. She saw herself with many people. All these people were thanking her. The adults shaking her hand, the little kiddies running to hug her. All thanking her for helping them get better, all thanking her for being such a genial doctor. Eventually, the people finished thanking her and went on with their lives. She sat and waited. She saw many people walking past her. All of them looked happy and healthy. All of them had scars somewhere on their bodies, quite possibly from surgery. She walked to where the people were coming from. The line of healed people never seemed to end. But eventually, she found herself staring face to face with a boy, no, a man. He was the source of the healed people. _He_ was the one who fixed them. _He_ was that man.

_"Thank you for standing by me. It's because of you that I've been able to help so much people. Thank you, Rikku."_

_Just the two of us..._

Rikku stopped herself and shook her head. She was very confused about her feelings.

_I just met him a few days ago! Why am I thinking about this? A week isn't enough time to connect this closely with someone! Is it?_

"Rikku, is something wrong?"

Rikku turned to Sora. He appeared concerned. Rikku smiled and shook her head.

"No, nothing's wrong, Sora," Rikku reassured as she locked her arm with Sora's. Sora gave her a questioning look.

"We're friends, Sora. If you're gonna be friends with girls, you gotta get used to frequent physical contact."

"Uh, right."

Sora looked off into the horizon. Rikku looked into it as well. The two friends looked off into the horizons of the future. Anything could happen. They would just have to wait.

-

_Dear Diary,_

_Once again, this is Rikku Grayson, reporting her day! Today is Saturday, and the end of the first week of school. I am SO mondo excited about that! I wanted to spend the day hanging out with Sora, Riku, and Kairi, but I didn't get a chance to go with all three of them. Kairi went off to Isla Blanco with her parents to visit her grandparents. She texted me about it at around 5:00 PM. Apparently, she arrived a bit early. When she and her parents got there, they found the door open. They got really scared, and went inside, looking for the grandparents. Kairi then said that she heard weird noises coming from a bedroom. She peered inside, and caught her grandparents getting it on! LOL! Kairi told me that she threw up afterwards. I know I would throw up if I caught my own grandparents getting it on! Heck, I'd throw up if I caught my parents in the act._

_Riku...now his story is hilarious. Back on Thursday, when me, Sora, and Kairi went to see 'The Time Traveler's Wife', we ran into Riku. Then, Sora's mom caught Riku in the theater as well! Riku was supposed to be at home writing an essay. His mom got so mad, she pushed his essay from 4,000 words to 10,000 words! And to make it worse, today, she made him walk around the entire mall wearing a girl's outfit! ROFLMAO! Riku told me everyone was laughing at him, as expected. However, maybe the most disturbing thing that happened was when some guy, unaware that Riku was really a guy, asked him out. Riku said that he rejected him (duh!), but the guy wouldn't give up. He started groping Riku! Eeeeeeew! It wasn't until the guy started feeling around Riku's private area that he realizedhis mistake. THAT must have been awkward._

_So, I spent the day with Sora. We ended up going to Magic Kingdom. Other than the fact that some girl threw Sora's phone into the pond, and I threw up on Sora, we had fun. The thing that bothers me...do I like him? I didn't think about Sora in that way during the school week, at least that's what I think. Well, maybe I thought about him in small pieces like that. But, today appeared to be the strongest feelings. I just...felt so content with him. He's such a nice person, and he's willing to cater to my whims. We also have similar dreams of our future. Because of this, we can really connect and focus on our futures. But again, this bothers me. I've known him a single week. Is that enough time to get to like someone? Plus, there's the fact that I told Kairi that I didn't like him in that way. I can already feel that Kairi likes him as well. Wait...does that mean I'm admitting it? Do I see Sora Keiman as my other? Oh god, I haven't felt this confused in a long time. I need more time to think. Maybe a good night's sleep will clear my head._

----------End----------

**-So ends another chapter. Rikku has admitted, so that's now two out of three. Tifa's finally appeared, but merely as a background character. It won't be long before she joins the battle.**

**I want people to know that I'm not intentionally bashing people. I just sort of see him as the easiest victim for several hilarious situations. You've gotta love his mom, right?**

**Sorry if this story seemed a bit rushed. Well, it appears rushed because it **_**was**_** rushed. Please tell me if there are any parts that are too confusing.**

**And like I said at the very beginning of the chapter: don't be fooled by the pairing of characters listed above. If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's the general info bar about the story that's above the story:**

**Rated: ****T**** - English - Humor/Romance - Sora & (**** )**

**The pairing is meant to fool 1st time readers of this story. Each girl only has a 33 and 1/3% chance of ending up with Sora. Got it memorized?-**


	7. Keiman and Lockhart, 2 Sides of 1 Coin

_Tifa: You're goin down!_

_Kairi: What? I don't even know who you are!_

_Rikku: She looks a little familiar..._

_dude overdrived: Heh. Girls. You gotta love them._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 6: Keiman and Lockhart, 2 Sides of 1 Coin**

"He what?!?"

Kairi pulled at her seatbelt, clutched her stomach and guffawed. Sora laughed as well. Riku, annoyed, continued driving, ignoring his friends.

"Would you guys just shut up?"

"Oh my god Riku, that's so hilarious! Oh, everyone at school is gonna make complete fun of you!" Kairi said, giggling.

"Next time, just stay home and write your essay," Sora calmly said after uttering a few laughs.

"Shut up. Could we just change the subject?" Riku begged, exasperated.

"Oh, alright Riku. Anything for a lady," Kairi cooed, patting the fuming Riku on his head. She then turned to Sora. "So, you hung out with Rikku on Saturday?"

"Yeah. We went to Magic Kingdom, where some _bitch_ threw my iPhone in the water!" Sora growled, clenching his fists. "And I won't be getting my new iPhone until this Friday."

"Did you take Rikku on the 'Final Velocity'?" Riku asked, glad that they were no longer talking about him.

"She threw up on me," Sora stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"The adrenaline must have hyped her up so much, her body couldn't take it anymore," Kairi snickered.

After talking for a little bit more, the three arrived at school. It was time for the second week of school to begin. Little did Sora know, his problems would drastically increase that day...

-I-

_1st Period: Sora - French 1_

"Oh, there's that hot red-headed girl!"

"Hey, red-head! Look over here!"

"Hey, baby! Want to go to the movies sometime?"

Sora looked at the classroom windows. A bunch of hormone-crazed guys were staring into the classroom and ogling Kairi, who was sitting next to him. She did not so much as look up. She stared down at her desk, and Sora could see an annoyed expression on her face.

"Seriously, you guys are a bunch of perverts!"

Suddenly, the guys looking through the windows were pushed down by a girl. The girl entered Madam Russeau's classroom with her hands on her hips. She appeared to be a brunette with an abnormally large bust.

"Ugh, guys ogling other girls, girls letting themselves be ogled. It disgusts me, and it's just further symbolizing the female stereotype that-"

Sora jumped up from his desk. His face was red and his blood was boiling with anger. He snarled and pointed a stiff finger at the girl. "YOU!!!!!"

"Yah! It's the pervert from Magic Kingdom!" The girl, who we know as Tifa, squealed.

"I'm not a pervert! And you owe me money for my iPhone!"

-

"Uh, who is this girl? And doesn't Sora have insurance?" Kairi asked Rikku, who had temporarily sat next to her.

"I think that's the brunette who threw Sora's iPhone into the water," Rikku replied.

-

"I don't owe you anything!" Tifa yelled. "Not when you're taking pictures of my underwear!"

"I wasn't taking pictures of your underwear!" Sora barked. "The wind caused me to change direction by accident!"

"Like I haven't heard that before! Perverts like you don't deserve nice phones, or to be able to go to nice schools!"

As the two continued to rabble, they failed to notice Madam Russeau entering the classroom. She did not appear to be in the greatest mood. She sat down on her desk, and slammed a fist into the wood. Everything grew quiet. Sora and Tifa stopped arguing, and turned around to face Madam Russeau.

"That's enough! Young lady and Mr. Keiman, you are both in trouble for causing classroom disruptions!" Madam Russeau bellowed.

_"Boy, you know Madam Russeau's mad when she doesn't speak any French,"_ Kairi whispered to Rikku.

"Now young lady, what is your name?!?"

"Um, I'm Tifa Lockhart. I just transferred here from Isla Tierra High."

"Well, Tifa Lockhart, it doesn't look like you're off to a good start this year," Madam Russeau said roughly. "And Sora Keiman, I expected better of you!"

"But, she..." Sora began, but stopped, knowing he wouldn't win.

"As you can both see, I'm not in the best mood today. If I was nicer, I'd let the two of you off with a warning. But instead..."

Madam Russeau then opened a locker behind her desk. She took out two mops and held them out to Sora and Tifa. "Now I'm gonna call the janitor. I want you two to wait out in the hallway until he comes with water. I then want you to scrub _all_ of C Hall. Now get to work!"

-

"Man, I hate this."

Sora muttered curses under his breath as he mopped the hallway. Tifa mopped not too far from him, clearly angry with him.

"This is your own fault! If you hadn't gone up and started the entire argument-"

"No, this is your fault! If you hadn't thrown my iPhone into the water, then this never would've happened! And you never even gave me a chance to explain! When I did explain, you didn't even bother to think about whether or not it was the truth!"

Tifa didn't answer. She grew silent. She glared at the ground and continued mopping it.

"And I heard you talking about Kairi. She's not modeling herself for guys, so you're wrong about that too."

Tifa threw her mop to the ground. She then glared at Sora and quickly walked toward him, forgetting about the wet floor. "Well you know what, you're nothing but a whiny little mother-"

_Sssssslip!_

"Gah!" Tifa ended up sliding across the floor. Sora braced himself for impact, but it did no good. Tifa ran into him, and the two fell onto the floor. Tifa landed on top of Sora's hand.

"Gah!" Sora pulled out his hand from under Tifa. He looked at his right index finger. It was sprained and swollen. "Look what you've-"

Sora stopped. He looked as Tifa struggled to get up. She yelped and fell to the ground again. She then took a look at her ankle. It was sprained.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sora asked, going over to help her up. She rebuffed him.

"I'm fine. I don't need your help."

Sora kneeled down and motioned for Tifa to go onto his back. "That sprain looks really bad. Get on my back, and I'll take you to the nurse."

"I said I don't need your help!" Tifa was able to stand up. But as she attempted to walk, she ended up nearly slipping again. Sora once again got in front of her.

"Just trust me. You need to get that ankle fixed."

Tifa took another look at Sora's backside. She then took a look at her sprained ankle. She deeply sighed.

-

Sora walked slowly to the nurse's office. The hurt Tifa was on his back. She refused to look up, and just stared at the ground as Sora carried her.

"Grr..." Sora attempted moving his index finger. It caused him a lot of pain. Tifa watched Sora, and began to feel bad.

"So...your name is Tifa Lock...Lock..." Sora said, thinking about Tifa's last name.

"Lockhart," Tifa said, looking up.

"Ah, that's right. Tifa Lockhart. That's an interesting name," Sora said with a smile.

A small smile appeared on Tifa's face. It then disappeared and she sighed. "Look...I'm sorry about your iPhone. I can be a bit overdramatic sometimes."

"You don't need to worry about that. I got insurance on it, so I'll be getting a new one on Friday."

_That's good,_ Tifa thought.

"Hey, about that incident on Saturday at Green Hills..."

Tifa listened closely to Sora. She waited for him to continue.

"I really was telling the truth. It really was the wind that caused me to turn towards you. I honestly didn't plan that...the thing would occur," Sora explained.

Tifa frowned. She felt very embarrased.

"But before that...I saw you standing by the pond. You were really soaking in the peace. You and nature...you just looked so in sync."

Tifa focused all of her attention on Sora. She felt touched by his comment.

"I like the peace as well. I enjoy just sitting by a peaceful area, like the water, and just staying in the moment. You and I are a lot alike. I guess you could say we're two sides of one coin."

Tifa lightly laughed. Sora softly laughed as well.

"The image of you standing by the pond...it was like the perfect peaceful scene. Had the whole ugliness not happened, I may have taken a picture of you, with no perverted goals. You just looked...so perfect."

Tifa laid her head down on Sora's shoulder. She felt herself grow warm from Sora's comments. She was also surprised to find her cheeks feeling quite hot, indicating that she was blushing.

-

"Well, this is no problem."

Tifa lay down on a small couch. Her ankle had a bag of ice on it. The nurse examined Tifa.

Sora picked up a piece of paper that Tifa had dropped when she entered the nurse's office. When he looked at it, he saw that it was her schedule.

**Tifa Lockhart****: Freshman**

**1st Period: French 1 - Russeau, C1**

**2nd Period: World History - Nomura, G4**

**3rd Period: Conceptual Physics - Miller, C9**

**4th Period: English 9 - Brantford, D6**

**5th Period: Algebra 1 - Kellyn, H2**

**6th Period: PE - Knightly, Gym**

_Whoa. We have our first five classes together. How uncanny is that?_

"It's nothing too major. Just rest in here for the rest of the period, and you should be fine. You however..."

The nurse turned to Sora. She examined his finger.

"The ligaments in your finger appear to be quite torn. You seem to have a second-degree sprain of the finger, worse than this young lady's sprain."

Sora gaped at the nurse. "You're telling me that this little finger is more severely damaged than that ankle?"

"Correct. You'll need to put what I call 'finger crutches' on it. You won't be able to use that hand very well for at least the rest of the day."

"You're kidding me! I'm right handed!" Sora complained.

"Well, you should have thought of that before you sprained that finger," the nurse calmly said as she walked back to her office behind another door.

"But it's not my- gah!" Sora stomped the ground. The nurse ignored him.

Sora sat down next to Tifa. "I might as well wait here with you."

Tifa nodded. She then struggled to get up and re-position herself behind Sora. She put her hands on Sora's back and began massaging him. Sora turned red at the sudden closeness between him and Tifa.

"You really shouldn't stress out so much. You need to relax a little more, calm down."

Tifa tenderly ran her hands across Sora's back. Despite her powerful strength, which Sora witnessed earlier, Tifa was able to make her touch very soft. She put pressure on her hands as she massaged Sora. Sora sighed in comfort. He felt the stress being lifted off of his shoulders.

Tifa brought her hands up to Sora's shoulders. She moved her hands across Sora's points of stress, and lifted the stress away. Sora closed his eyes and enjoyed the sweet massage Tifa was giving him. He felt calm and peaceful, as he had felt when he was at the pond, and the beach.

"That feel good? My aunt manages a spa area, and she taught me these techniques."

"Yeah...that feels nice."

Tifa continued massaging Sora, and Sora continued taking pleasure in it. This went on for about two more minutes.

The door opened. There, a blonde boy stood. "Hey, nurse, can I take off these bandages no-"

The boy caught sight of Tifa and Sora. The two were staring at him.

"Cloud?" Sora questioned, recognizing him.

"...Sora."

"Cloud! Good to see ya!"

Cloud looked at Tifa. Sora noticed that Cloud suddenly lost some of his serious composure.

"Tifa. I didn't think I'd see you until 3rd Period."

Tifa turned to Sora. "Cloud and I met over summer when he was over at Isla Tierra. We became good friends. Then when I found out my parents were moving us here to Main Island, I called Cloud and told him I'd be transferring here to Destiny Academy."

"You're a friend of Cloud's?" Sora turned away from Tifa and looked at Cloud. "Huh. I never saw Cloud talking to anyone else here at school."

"I don't need to explain myself to you," Cloud said gruffly.

"Hey, I'm just sayin! Plus, Kairi tried to be friends with you! You wouldn't even give her or a single other person a chance! It's no fun being alone in high school, Cloud."

"Just shut up. You want me to break your other finger?" Cloud said angrily.

"Cloud, that's enough. Hurting people isn't going to solve your own problems," Tifa calmly (and hypocritically) said, with a hint of sharpness present in her voice.

Cloud stayed silent. He then closed his eyes and nodded. "Fine then. I'll meet you in 3rd Period." Cloud then turned around and left.

Sora stared after him. He couldn't understand why Cloud would barely accept anyone into his life.

_That guy..._

-II-

_2nd Period: Sora - World History_

"In the late 1500s, Nihon's leader attempted to invade other nations such as..."

Mr. Nomura paced around the room, giving a lecture on the history of Nihon. The students were all taking notes. Tifa was easily able to follow along with Mr. Nomura's words. However, she heard Sora, who was sitting behind her, silently groaning.

Tifa turned behind her seat to look at Sora. He had in front of him a notebook with a few badly written notes. Sora was at a serious handicap with his right hand damaged and covered with those dumb 'finger crutches'.

Tifa looked at Sora sympathetically, who had not yet noticed that she was looking at him. She then nudged his shoulder.

"Give me your notebook. I'll write the notes for you."

Sora shook his head. "No, it's fine, I'll be okay."

"You're not okay! Just let me write them for you!" Tifa insisted, grabbing the notebook.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" Sora retaliated, gripping the notebook.

"I can write the notes for-"

"I'll be okay by myse-"

"Look, just let me-"

"I said-"

"NOW!"

Tifa grabbed the notebook with her might. Sora attempted to reach after it, but did not bother. Tifa laid the notebook next to her own notebook, and took out another pencil. The next action she performed truly showed her uniqueness. She now had a pencil in both of her hands. She then began writing notes simultaneously on both notebooks, without making a single mistake. Sora was in awe.

_That's amazing! Tifa's ambidextrous?_

Rikku, sitting behind Sora, poked Sora with her pencil. "Good to see you two are getting along now."

-

Sora looked at his notebook. He was able to read Tifa's notes with ease. They were very easy to understand.

"This is incredible! You're able to write this neatly with both of your hands!"

Tifa chuckled. "That's the Lockhart gift. All Lockharts have great strength, brilliant smarts, and incredible writing abilities. We also have a math disability..."

"You're awesome Tifa. I'm sorry I ever called you a bitch before."

-

Kairi eagerly walked up the stairs to the third floor. It was almost time for 3rd Period to begin. As she entered C Hall, she saw Sora nearing Mr. Miller's class as well. He was not alone, though. Rikku, and that other girl Tifa were at his sides. He was happily conversing with them, and they seemed to be enjoying his company. Kairi scowled as the three entered the classroom. She clenched her hands into fists, and slowly walked to the classroom.

_This is happening again..._

-

_3rd Period: Sora - Conceptual Physics_

In Conceptual Physics, Mr. Miller announced that everyone in the class would have to perform an experiment relating to speed. The experiments would need all parts of the scientific method, and a full report would be due in two weeks. He said that everyone would be paired up into teams of two, which he picked randomly. Coincidentally, Sora and Tifa were paired up, and Kairi and Rikku (also paired up for a French project) were paired up as well.

After Sora and Tifa talked about their experiment, they ended up talking about each other. Sora was amazed to find out how much they had in common.

_Tifa...it seems like we really are two sides of one coin. We share so many things in common. We both like the same video games, anime, and television shows. We both like listening to the same music, and we're both Olympian fans. On top of that, we have five classes in common. When I'm with you, I always find something to talk about. Things never get boring..._

-III-

The first day of the second week of school was now over. Sora decided to take advantage of the newfound freedom given to him by his mother, and go to the Destiny SuperMall.

Sora went to where he usually started off going: GamePlace. Sora, being a total game nerd, usually spent around fifteen minutes in the store. Most of the time he spent was playing the game demos.

_**Wii Sports Resort**_

_Sora's Mii was getting ready for a bike race. He waited eagerly for the countdown to end._

_3..._

_2..._

_1..._

_Go!_

_The Mii sped off. It struggled to catch up with the other racers. Eventually, the Mii reached a tight curve. It slowed down, and slowly turned to go the other way. The Mii was getting very tired, and had to rest for a bit. As the Mii continued on, it bypassed many other Mii's until-_

"I'm bored."

Sora paused the game, and left the store. Being bored, he walked around the entire mall, not being sure of what to do.

Eventually, Sora found himself in front of 'Gotta Style'. He shuddered.

_Never again._

-

Tifa finished buying her sandwich from 'Subway'. She began walking to the exit of the small restaurant, when she caught sight of Sora in front of 'Gotta Style', the store directly across from 'Subway'.

_Um...Is Sora going to go into that store?_

Tifa watched as Sora walked back in the direction from where he came, only to be stopped by a familiar face...

-

Sora shrugged and turned back the other way. As he turned around, though, he saw Kairi exiting from 'Gotta Style'. He turned around (again) and rushed towards her.

"Hey, Kairi!"

Kairi turned to look at Sora. She gave him a small smile. "Hey."

"Look, both of us are here at the mall! Great minds think alike, don't they?!" Sora said cheerfully.

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, I guess."

Sora's cheeriness went away. He had that same horrible feeling that he had during 6th Period on the first day of school. "Kairi...what's wrong?"

Kairi shook her head. "Nothing. I just...need to think."

"Kairi, what're you talking about?"

"Look, Sora, I really don't want to talk about it right now."

"Kairi, I'm your friend, and I want to know what's-"

"Sora, I just need some time!" Kairi replied with sadness and anger in her voice.

"Time for what?!?"

"Just leave me alone for the rest of the day. I need some time to think about it."

"You need time to think about what?!?" Sora questioned, severe frustration present in his voice.

"Just leave me alone!!!" Kairi screamed as she ran away.

"Kairi!" Sora reached out for her, but did not chase her. He stared after her, and was filled with confusion and frustration.

-

Tifa did not hear the conversation that went on between Sora and Kairi. She decided to go out and find out what happened.

-

"Hey, Sora!"

Sora turned around. He saw Tifa coming out of the Subway restaurant. She was holding a bag with a sandwich in it.

"Tifa?" Sora was surprised to see her there.

"Hey, you look upset. Wanna tell me what's wrong?"

"No, I don't," Sora roughly replied.

"I saw Kairi running away from you. Now I want to know what's going on right now," Tifa demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

"Tifa, this is none of your business. I'd appreciate it if you just butt out."

This appeared to make Tifa angry. Very angry. "Butt out?!? Don't you tell me to butt out! All I want is to know what's wrong with you, why you're upset, and to know what I can do to help fix it!"

"Why? I just practically met you this day, not counting Saturday! Why do you want to know so badly?!?"

Tifa edged towards Sora, he edged back, and she contined going forward, while he continued going backward.

"I want to know so that I can help you! So I can be a good friend to you! So I can get you to trust me! So we can be close to each other! And you want to know why?!? Because I LIKE YOU!!!"

Tifa yelled that last sentence rather loud. Sora gaped at Tifa, completely shocked about what he just heard. Tifa also appeared to be shocked as well. Apparently, her confession was a complete accident. Tifa's face was crimson red right now.

"No. Did I just..."

Tifa stared at Sora in shock. She dropped her sandwich to the ground, and covered her mouth. She then screamed and ran away.

Sora was still shocked by the entire event. After a few seconds, he snapped back to reality and saw Tifa running away from him. He chased after her. "W-wait, Tifa!"

The two ran across the entire mall, with Tifa refusing to look back. Sora persisted in chasing after her.

"Don't follow me!"

"Why are you running away?!?"

"Because I like you!"

"Why are you repeating that?!?"

"Because it's the truth!"

The two continued running. Both of them gradually slowed down, but the chase was still on.

"What do you mean by that?!?"

"How many times do you want me to say it?!? I like you, I like you, I LIKE YOU!!!"

"But how?!? We've only know each other for a day, _two_ if you count Saturday! How did this happen?!?"

"I just moved to this island. I didn't know anybody except for you and Cloud. And when I hang out with you...I can be myself! I don't need to act tough and be something I'm not! When I'm with you, I have fun, and I find myself yearning to be your friend!"

Eventually, the two stopped running. Tifa still didn't turn around to face Sora, but she continued talking.

"I like being with you. After we reconciled, I completely forgot about that incident on Saturday, and I felt the enjoyment of today! I want to continue experiencing that feeling! I want to be in Sora's inner circle! I want to be Sora's confidante!"

Tifa finally turned around to face Sora. She smiled ever so warmly at him. "That's what I want. I want trust, closeness, and friendship."

Sora couldn't find anything left to say. He was no longer shocked at Tifa. Rather, he was amazed. He was amazed that she would pour her heart out like this.

"So, let's be great friends, Sora! Let's have a great high school life! Let's be two sides of one coin!"

Tifa then rushed forward and hugged Sora. Sora froze there for a moment, still amazed. He then hugged her back. Afterwards, Tifa let go, and she ran away again. This time, Sora did not chase her. Tifa didn't expect him to chase after her, anyway. Sora continued watching her until she turned a corner and was out of sight. Sora took a deep breath. His previous confusion and frustration...was now replaced with more confusion, but also curiosity.

_Is this really how high school is gonna be like? If it is...then I'm in for one hell of a ride._

----------End----------

Sora Keiman: A fifteen year old boy who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. Sora is childhood friends with Riku O'Reilly and Kairi Dawson. Kairi moved away from the islands when she was 7, but moved back to the islands the summer before Sora's freshman year at Destiny Academy. Sora is a video game "nerd", and can be seen as the "king of video games". However, after Kairi returned, Kairi was revealed to acutally be more skilled than Sora in the gaming world. Sora has apparently never had a girlfriend, or even had a single kiss. When he starts high school at Destiny Academy, he finds himself in the company of three girls: Kairi, Rikku, and Tifa. He remains very good friends with Kairi, althought their relationship can sometimes become strained, when Kairi finds Sora becoming close with another girl. He very quickly became friends with Rikku. He and Tifa had a rough start, but they eventually became friends, and Tifa eventually found herself attracted to him. Sora tends to stress out a lot, and is sometimes stubborn and easily annoyed. But overall, he is a kind person who truely cares about his friends.

**-It looks like Tifa has joined the battle. I believe that there may be some readers who may think that Tifa's confession was too early and rushed. However, I would like to point out that Tifa's confession was completely copied out of the manga "Ichigo 100%". The girl that Tifa's personality is modeled after **_**also**_** revealed her feelings to the main male character shortly after the two had a major spat. So, understand that this idea was merely copied from the manga "Ichigo 100%", and merely repackaged under Kingdom Hearts. If you don't like it, go complain to the writer of "Ichigo 100%".**

**Likely anyone reading this has noticed the short summary of Sora given at the end of the chapter. From now on, I will occasionally give a summary/synopsis at the end of a chapter. This summary/synopsis will be about a character in the story and his/her adventures up until that point in the story, or it may be a summary about a 'term' used in the story, such as 'Destiny Academy', or 'Magic Kingdom'. This will keep my readers up to date with the story. Thanks once again for reading, and don't be afraid to review!-**


	8. Rise of the Advent Children

_Cloud: Don't drag me into this._

_Tifa: Come on, it'll be fun!_

_dude overdrived: You don't really have a choice._

_Kairi: Let's make the most of it!_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 7: Rise of the Advent Children**

_Pre-Reading Info_

**Cloud Strife****: Freshman**

**1st Period: Spanish 1 - Russo, C3**

**2nd Period: Conceptual Physics - Garrison, H5**

**3rd Period: Geometry - Daniels, I2**

**4th Period: English 9 - Brantford, D6**

**5th Period: World History - Allen, H1**

**6th Period: PE - Rivers, Gym**

-O-

Cloud begrudgingly walked out of his house. He looked around him. It appeared to be a beautiful day, with the birds singing, the flowers so very colorful, and the warm sun shining down on his face. However, he did not see any of this beauty. From the birds, he heard songs of death. From the flowers, he saw merely different colors of blood. From the sun, he saw _hell_.

Cloud stared down at the ground and slowly set on his way to school. He tried to forget about the incident. He tried to move on, to have a happy life and be the cool, collected person he once was. But no matter what, he just couldn't forget.

_It's been seven months. You'd think I'd have been able to move on since then. But...nothing._

Cloud took out his wallet. On the very front pocket, there was a photograph that he treasured as one of his most valuable possessions. He looked at it. There were three people in the photograph. One was Cloud, who was standing inbetween a girl and a boy. This Cloud was happy and smiling. To his right, there was a girl wearing a pink dress. She had braided brown hair. This girl was Aerith Gainsborough, who was currently a sophomore at Destiny Academy. She was also one of Cloud's few, _very few_, close friends. To Cloud's left, there was...

Tears began welling up in Cloud's eyes. He whimpered, and rubbed the tears off of his eyes. Even to this day, he still could not forget the incident.

To Cloud's left, there was a boy. He was a little taller than Cloud, and had dark, spiky hair. This boy was a year older than Aerith, and two years older than Cloud. He and Cloud were the very best of friends. He also happened to be Aerith's boyfriend. _Was_ Aerith's boyfriend. Their relationship tragically ended, all because of the incident. Aerith would never forget. Cloud would never forget. And that was why both he and Aerith always had so much pain in their lives. The incident...Cloud blamed himself for it. Why shouldn't he? He truely believed it was because of him that his best friend...

The tears streamed out of Cloud's eyes. He dropped to the ground and bawled. All the while, he held the photograph to his face.

_It's all my fault. I'm so sorry, Zack._

-I-

_Before School..._

Sora groaned. He looked around C Hall, trying to find at least one of his friends. He was not able to ride with Riku today, as Riku decided to be a jerk and drive Kairi to school, but not him. Sora had to walk to school.

Sora sighed. He opened his locker and got a notebook out of it. Just as he closed his locker, _she_ appeared.

"Hey, SORA!!!"

Sora yelped. The girl surprised him so much, that he fell to the ground. Sora picked up his notebook, and looked up at the girl who shocked him. Apparently, it was not Rikku, as Sora had expected. Rather, it was Tifa, the girl who accidentally confessed her feelings to him the other day.

"Uh, hey Tifa!" Sora gathered himself up, and faced Tifa. She giggled and smiled at him.

"Nice to see you this morning!" Tifa said as she locked her arms with Sora. Sora shifted uncomfortably.

"Uh, great to see you too," Sora quietly said as he released his arm from Tifa's grip.

Tifa gasped and grabbed Sora's arm again. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh, nowhere, I just..." Sora began as he once again released his arm from Tifa's grip.

Tifa growled and roughly grabbed Sora's arm again. This time, she held him very close to her, so that he could not escape. "Would you stop that?!?"

"Uh, Tifa, what're you doing anyway?" Sora asked nervously, not attempting to escape her grip again.

"What Sora, afraid of physical contact with a pretty girl like myself?" Tifa replied, giggling and laying her head on Sora's shoulder.

Sora gently lifted Tifa's head off of his shoulder. "Wow, getting a bit close today?"

Tifa giggled again. "I figured that since you know how I feel, why try to hide it anymore? In fact, I think I'm gonna tell everyone right now about how I feel about you!"

Tifa let go of Sora, and began running towards Madam Russeau's class. Sora screamed and ran after her.

_Ring!_

-

_1st Period: Sora - French 1_

Tifa gleefully ran into the classroom and jumped up onto one of the desks. Apparently, Madam Russeau was not there yet to catch Tifa in the act. Everyone stopped talking and looked up at Tifa. Sora ran into the room, bug eyed and looking in horror at Tifa.

"I have an announcement to make! I would like to profess my undying feelings to the one man I care about, So-"

Sora grabbed Tifa's waist and pulled her down from the desk. She yelped, and fell backward, onto Sora. Sora groaned as he landed on his back. Tifa landed on her back onto Sora.

Tifa laughed and sat up. She then turned to face Sora, and sat on top of him, basically straddling him. The students in the classroom gasped and began gossiping. Some were laughing at the position Sora was in. Others were deeply envying him for having one of the hottest girls in the school straddling him.

Sora turned deep red, and began sweating. Tifa only laughed as she put her hands on Sora's chest.

"Could someone please take a picture of this and post it on the Internet!?! That would be great!" Tifa requested of the crowd.

Immediately, the students pulled out their cell phones, and prepared to take pictures of Tifa straddling Sora.

"NO!" Sora yelled as he shoved Tifa off of him. Tifa yelped, and landed on her bottom. Sora stood up and dusted himself off. Tifa was looking up at him with puppy-dog eyes.

"Tifa, ARE YOU INSANE?!?!?!?"

Tifa did not answer. Instead, she closed her eyes and grinned at Sora. Sora groaned and helped her up. As she got up, Tifa purposely tripped so she would fall on top of Sora. She hoped that they would fall to the ground again, but Sora was able to stand his ground and stay up.

Tifa stared at Sora and pouted. Sora abruptly shook his head and lightly pushed her off of him.

Rikku watched the events unfold. She felt a little pain in her heart as she watched it, but she also couldn't help but feel amused.

"If only Kairi was here to see this."

-

_Earlier, before 1st Bell rang..._

Riku dropped Kairi off at the front of the school as he left to go park his car. Kairi waved goodbye to him, and walked into the school. Afterwards, she went into the library to read until 1st Bell rang.

Kairi went inside the library. It was a quite large library, taking up the space of at least four or five classrooms. At the very front was the check-out counter and several computers for use. The rest of the library was full of books and had many tables for students to sit at.

Kairi found an empty table and sat down. She then opened her backpack and took out her book, Twilight **(OMG, I wish people would find something else to read besides this vampire book that half the world has already read)**. As Kairi read about the blooming relationship of the mortal Bella and the vampire Edward, she found herself fantasizing. However, she was not fantasizing about Bella and Edward, but instead replaced them with herself and Sora. She imagined herself being irrevocably in love with Sora. She imagined herself giving up her entire life to be with Sora. Then, she abruptly closed the book and hurriedly stuffed it back into her backpack. Kairi stared at the table. She felt her heart beating very fast.

_If Sora and I were meant to be together...then it should have happened by now, right?_

Kairi laid her head on the table. She found herself reminiscing about the first week of school. She remembered Rikku, who she had grown jealous of. She remembered reconciling with Rikku, and how she had finally been able to accept her. She reminisced about yesterday, when she found Sora having fun with both Rikku and the new girl Tifa.

Kairi sighed. She was upset with herself. She was upset that she just could not accept the fact that Sora would be friends with other girls. She decided that this had to end. Right now.

_I have to just accept it. I'm not the only female in Sora's life. And as one of Sora's best friends, I have to support him in making friends with others. As his friend, I have to support him in any future relationships he has, even if it isn't with me. It'll be hard...but that's just how it has to be._

-II-

_Passing Period: Between 1st and 2nd Period_

Sora, Rikku, and Tifa walked together to Mr. Nomura's World History class. Rikku was walking in front of Sora and Tifa, impatient with how slow they were going. Tifa walked alongside Sora, occasionally "accidentally" bumping herself into him. Although Sora was bothered by Tifa's constant advances, he could not help but feel himself succumbing to the beautiful girl.

"You guys are so slow! If you don't hurry, I'm a gonna run ahead of you!" Rikku quickly announced as she hopped up and down.

"Rikku, take a chill pill!" Tifa said while she "accidentally" pushed the side of her body onto Sora's side.

Sora attempted ignoring the girl, but that appeared to make her advances that much more occasional. But suddenly, they came to a stop.

"Hey, is that Cloud?"

Tifa pointed forward. There, the three of them saw Cloud drinking out of a water fountain.

"Come on guys, let's go say hi!" Tifa suggested as she grabbed Sora's arm.

Tifa began going forward, but she stopped when she saw a huge senior menacingly walking towards Cloud. Unfortunately, this was the senior that we all know and hate: Sephiroth. Sephiroth snickered and pushed Cloud into the drinking fountain, causing Cloud's shirt to get wet.

Cloud turned around to face his tormentor, who then grabbed his collar and lifted him up off the ground. Cloud tried to pry Sephiroth's hands off of his collar, but the senior was just too strong.

"Hello, Cloudie. I believe we have some unfinished business to attend to," Sephiroth said, snearing.

Cloud did not try to fight back. "Fine. Hit me. Who knows, it might actually help me out."

"Always glad to take on invitations." Sephiroth then lifted his fist in the air, preparing to punch Cloud. Cloud did not attempt to block himself, and waited patiently for the attack. However, just as Sephiroth was about to hit Cloud...

"Stop it. Let him go, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth's attack stopped. Cloud opened his eyes, surprised. Both he and Sephiroth turned to the direction where the voice came from. Close to where they were, there were two other seniors. One was a student wearing a torn blue T-shirt and torn pants. He had brown hair that was slicked back. The other was another male student who had reddish-brown hair. His clothing was mostly red colored, as well.

"Put him down," the red-head demanded.

Sephiroth growled. He then looked back at Cloud and roughly set him down.

"You're lucky Angeal and Genesis were here. If they weren't, you'd be dead meat."

Sephiroth gave Cloud one more dirty look, then walked over to Genesis and Angeal. The three then walked away from the commotion.

Cloud, Sora, Rikku, and Tifa stared after the senior trio. Tifa then ran over to Cloud.

"Are you alright, Cloud?"

Cloud picked at a water stain on his shirt. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Sora ran over to Cloud, as well. "I don't like the looks of that guy. What does he want with you anyway?"

Cloud stayed silent for a moment. He then sighed and began to talk. "Sephiroth and I had never gotten along too well. He never liked me, and I never liked him. He torments me whenever he feels like it. That's pretty much the only reason."

"Why did he stop trying to hurt you when those two other guys came?" Rikku questioned.

"Those two are his two best friends, Angeal and Genesis. Angeal is a 'good' student, although he's been in a few scuffles. Genesis is an ex-gang member, and now no longer gets in trouble on the streets. For some strange reason, Sephiroth _always_ listens to the two of them, and will stop fighting if they order him to. I never found out why."

"That's pretty weird," Sora mumbled.

Cloud scoffed. "I'll be on my way now."

Without saying goodbye, Cloud turned around to go. However, Tifa grabbed him by the collar.

"Why don't you walk with us? It'll be fun!"

Cloud brushed off Tifa's hand. "I'll only go if it's only with you. I don't want _them_ here," Cloud roughly said, motioning to Sora and Rikku.

Sora clenched his fists and grinded his teeth. "What the hell is up with you?!? You always shut everyone off, and only talk to Tifa and that sophomore girl!"

"I said it before and I'll say it again! It's NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Cloud yelled in an outrage. "Tifa, forget it! I'm not going with any of you!"

With that said, Cloud turned around and ran off with a huff. Sora stared after him, his face red with anger. Rikku appeared hurt, and was staring down at her feet. Tifa looked as Cloud disappeared, her face full of concern.

-

Cloud continued running. He ran farther and farther away, away from the people who tried to help him. Cloud did not care. He just continued running, and did not look where he was going. Without seeing it, he accidentally ran innto the stairs going down, and ended up tumbling down. As he fell down the steps, he felt sharp pains in his body. His head, his stomach, his chest. When he stopped tumbling, he lay on the ground, with many bruises and blood seeping out of his nose. Some of the nearby students called a teacher, who subsequently called some students to help her bring Cloud to the nurse's office. As they lifted him up, he merely looked up at the ceiling with a blank expression. He was still alive, but on the inside, he felt dead.

_This must have been...how Zack felt. When I killed him._

-III-

_4th Period: Sora - English_

"Cloud's seriously in the ER?"

"Yeah. The nurse deemed his injuries very severe, and had him taken to the hospital."

Tifa and Sora were currently sitting next to each other in English. Mr. Brandtford was having the students complete a worksheet. Sora and Tifa finished early, so they were allowed to talk.

"Would you come with me to visit him in the ER?" Tifa asked Sora sincerely.

"Sure thing. As long as he doesn't yell at me again," Sora said, rolling his eyes.

"Goody!" Tifa exclaimed as she grabbed Sora's arm again. She then began running her fingers up Sora's arm. "And you know, a lot of the hospital rooms are empty. Maybe after we visit Cloud, we could go to one of the rooms and..." Tifa brought her face to Sora's ear and whispered something into his ear. Whatever it was, it caused Sora's face to turn full blown crimson, and Tifa to giggle naughtily.

"T-Tifa! Don't say that!" Sora sputtered as sweat began making his eyebrows damp.

"Aw, you're so cute! I'm gonna give you a big bear hug!"

Tifa reached over her desk, roughly placed her arms around Sora, and embraced him. The embrace was apparently very tight, as it appeared Sora lost his breath.

"You two should seriously get a room!" Kairi laughed. She was sitting on Sora's other side.

"Haha," Sora mocked. However, he couldn't help but feel relieved. Kairi did not appear to be getting hostile today.

"And, I'll visit Cloud with you guys. And I think I could get Rikku to go with us. I also think I could get Riku to drive us."

Tifa clasped her hands together. "That's great! Maybe since Cloud recently went through a painful experience, it'll make him happy that other people care enough about him to watch over him! Who knows, he might open up again!"

"ALL RIGHT!!!" Sora, Tifa, and Kairi exclaimed. The other students in the class turned around to look at the three loudmouths. The teacher gave them a dirty look.

"No cheering in the classroom!"

-IV-

_After School..._

"You want to go see Cloud?"

Riku leaned back on the wall of the school. Sora, Tifa, Rikku, and Kairi were standing in front of him. They were careful to stay out of the ways of the exiting students.

"Yeah, we want to see how he's doing. And we don't feel like paying to go on the bus, so we'll just take the cheap way and ride with you," Tifa stated.

Riku shrugged. "I dunno. I have Spanish with Cloud, and he always acted like a jerk to me. Why should I care?"

"Riku!" Kairi was angry that Riku did not appear to care at all. "We all want to at least _try_ to be friends with him. Come on Riku, do this for me and Sora and Tifa and Rikku!"

Riku rolled his eyes. "I dunno." He then eyed Tifa. He grinned and flipped his hair back. "Tell you what. I'll drive you to the hospital...if little miss hottie Tifa over here will go on a date with me."

"As if!" Tifa scoffed, spurning Riku. She then grabbed Sora's arm. "The only person I'll go out with is Sora!"

"Seriously?" Riku asked, surprised. When Tifa didn't answer, Riku sighed and shook his head. "No deal then. You can just take the bus."

"How about this then?" Tifa let go of Sora, and grabbed Riku's collar. Despite being shorter than him, Tifa was able to lift Riku off the ground with ease. Sora and the other two girls looked in awe. "If you don't drive the four of us to the hospital, I'll give you a date...with my fist!"

"Alright, geez, of course I'll drive you there! I was just kidding, and I've been worried about Cloud too!" Riku protested as Tifa let him down. "I tried to follow in your guys' footsteps. I continuously tried connecting with him, but he never let me. Despite that, I kept on trying. So maybe when he sees all of us together, he'll really see that we care about him."

"Aw, so sweet Riku," Rikku cooed as she pinched his cheek. Riku smiled at her.

"Any chance _you_ want to go out with me?"

"Just drive us there," Rikku replied, spurning Riku as well.

-

As Riku pulled up to the stoplight, he opened his Gatorade bottle and drank some of it. Sora sipped some Rockstar out of the bottle in his hand. He was sitting in the passenger seat next to Riku. In the back, the three girls sat in their seats. Rikku on one end, Kairi in the middle, and Tifa on the other end. They were talking and gossiping, further pushing female stereotypes. It appeared that Tifa and Kairi had become friends as well.

Riku looked back at the girls. He checked out each one of them, without either of them noticing. He then turned and looked at Sora. He shook his head at Sora, despite there being a look of admiration on his face.

"Sora, I don't know how you did it."

"Wha?" Sora said as he gulped down a large amount of Rockstar.

"Three insanely hot girls. And you already know that one of them actually likes you. I praise you, man. In two weeks, you've gone from dateless chump to rockin' playa!"

"Oh, come on Riku. Tifa's the only one whose feelings I actually know. For all we know, Kairi and Rikku are just my friends. You may be overexaggerating a bit too far."

"If I were you, I'd put them under my thumb while there's still a chance," Riku said quietly so that the girls wouldn't hear him. "If you did that, you would be able to get them to do anything for you. _Anything._" Riku raised his eyebrows up and down as he said that last word.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Riku, that only works with idiot girls. _These_ girls happen to be real intelligent. And I also happen to respect each and every one of them."

"Spoken like a true sissy," Riku snickered as the stoplight turned green and the car went forward. Sora paid no mind to it and continued drinking his Rockstar.

"Dumbass."

-

Sora, Riku, Kairi, Tifa, and Rikku walked down the hospital hallway, on their way to Cloud's room. As they got there, they saw Mrs. Strife, who apparently knew they were coming.

"He's in here. He could really use a friend right now, or at least someone who cares about him. He just refuses to talk to me."

Mrs. Strife said goodbye to the group, and went to the cafeteria to get something to eat and to clear her mind. Tifa went ahead of the group. She opened the door, and the friends walked in.

The hospital room was very simple. There was a television attached to the ceiling, a table for the doctor to sit at, and the bed, which had Cloud on top of it. Cloud had bandages on his head, his arms, his legs, and although they couldn't be seen, there were some on his stomach. That tumble did a serious number on him.

Cloud eyed the group angrily. He frowned at Tifa. "You said you were the only one who was going to come here."

"If I said others would be coming, you would have barred us from going in here." Tifa then sat down at Cloud's side. Sora and Kairi sat on his other side. Riku and Rikku sat down at the table.

"How're you feeling, Cloud?" Kairi softly asked.

"Fine," Cloud gruffly replied.

"Next time, I suggest wearing padding," Riku called over from the table.

The five friends laughed. Cloud's serious expression remained on his face.

"Come on, Cloud. You should've seen those stairs coming. Why didn't you be more careful?" Sora asked, his voice sounding strained.

"It's none of your-"

"Enough, Cloud. I'm your friend. These people are trying to be your friends. We want to know what's wrong. Why are you so reluctant to accept people into your life? I talked to Aerith," Tifa revealed.

The mention of Aerith surprised Cloud. Although still angry, he was now paying more attention to Tifa.

"She told me. She told me about how you were once a fun-loving person, really friendly and loved to joke around. Then...some incident happened. She wouldn't tell me, as it was too painful. Cloud, tell me. What is this 'incident', and why does it affect you so much?"

Cloud hesitated. Then Tifa put her hand on Cloud's cheek. Cloud looked up at her. She was so gentle. Her hand felt like his mother's touch, only he felt more comfortable with it.

"We want to help you. The first path to helping...is to know why you refuse to be helped."

Cloud looked around the room. All were looking at him with sincere eyes. Tifa, Sora, and Kairi were truely concerned about him. Riku and Rikku had got up and went to the front of Cloud's bed. They were deeply concerned as well.

"Seven months ago..."

-

_"Whoo, that was a good movie!"_

_Me and Zack exited the movie theater. Zack sipped the rest of his soda and threw the cup into the trash can. He then looked at me and grinned._

_"Pretty sweet, eh Cloudman?"_

I had a friend. His name was Zack Fair. At the time, I was an eighth-grader, and Zack was a sophomore. Aerith, Zack's girlfriend and my best female friend, was a freshman. The three of us were extremely close. We had bonds similar to the bonds Sora, Riku, and Kairi appear to have. We were the best of friends and nothing could tear us apart...until the incident.

_Zack looked at the watch on his left hand. "Hey, Aerith's waiting for us at the park. We should go!"_

_"I'll race ya!"_

_I sped off. Naturally, Zack chased after me. The two of us ran across the sidewalk, having the time of our lives. Eventually, we reached the crosswalk. The little glowing white man on the side of the stoplight had turned back into an orange hand. Zack and I stopped running._

_"I beat ya, Zackman!" I happily announced._

_"If this stoplight wasn't in the way, I would've totally beat you to the park, hands down!" Zack confidently said._

_"We'll just see about that!"_

_The glowing white man appeared once again. In a haste, I sprinted forward. However, I failed to see a speeding car head my way. _

_"Cloud!"_

_Zack ran forward, and pushed me out of the way. He saved me from being hit by the car. However...he was not so lucky._

_I watched as the car slammed into my best friend, and sent him flying down the street. A great commotion among the people on the street occured. Panicking, I ran over to my best friend, who was lying in the street. He had many bruises all over his body. Blood was coming out of a crack in his head. More blood flowed out of his nose. Worst of all, he coughed blood. Zack's eyes were dull. They were slowly losing ability to see as his brain shut down..._

_"Zack. Zack! ZACK!!!"_

-

"And it's all my fault," Cloud said, his voice cracking. "If I hadn't been so stupid, I would have seen that car coming! It's all my fault! I killed Zack! I KILLED ZACK!" Cloud yelled extremely loud. Tifa brought a finger to his mouth.

"Don't say that. It's not your fault, no matter what you think."

Sora sighed. He stared at Cloud's face. "I'm not going to say that I understand. Because I don't. I could never imagine how it feels to lose someone I care about. What I _am_ going to say is that shutting yourself off from everyone isn't going to help you out. Please Cloud, we're your friends. Let us help."

"Stop it! Just stop it! How many times do I have to tell you?!? I DON'T NEED YOUR HELP! Please, just leave me alone! Just let me be! Please, just GET OUT!!!"

-

The five friends reluctantly exited the hospital room, all dissatisfied with what happened. Cloud stared angrily at the wall in front of him. He then reached into his pants, which were hanging on the side of the bed. He took out his wallet and took out the photograph. The photograph had three people in it. In the middle was a happy and smiling Cloud. To his right, there was Aerith Gainsborough. To his left, was a tall boy with dark spiky hair. This boy happened to be Cloud's best friend. _Was_ Cloud's best friend.

The tears collected in Cloud's eyes. He laid his head on his pillow, and whimpered as the tears flowed out of his eyes. He held the photograph to his heart.

_It's all my fault. I'm so sorry, Zack._

----------End----------

Riku O'Reilly: A sixteen year old boy who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. Riku is best friends with Sora Keiman and Kairi Dawson. After Kairi moved away, he and Sora kept their close bond. When Kairi moved back, Riku's friendship with her was renewed as well. Despite several awkward scenes, Riku is completely heterosexual, not homosexual in the slightest bit. Riku appears to dip into the female culture on more occasions than one, but he still remains straight. Due to this, Riku feels compelled to assert his "manliness", often insisting on doing manly things. Riku is quite popular with the girls, but often goofs up in front of them. Riku appears to be very interested in older girls, but he has shown exceptions to girls within his age group, such as Tifa, Rikku, and Kairi. Riku is an avid sports fan, his favorite sports team being "The Olympians". He is also interested in video games, although not nearly as much as Sora. Although he often has fall outs with his friends, he still cares very much for them and will always support them.

**-Man. This chapter was sure depressing, wasn't it? Sure there were a few humorous scenes, but it was overall depressing. Will Cloud ever escape his depression and stop blaming himself for Zack's death? We can only wait and find out in the future.-**


	9. The Rikku and Kairi Projet

_Rikku: I wanna do the science project!_

_Kairi: No, let's do the French 'projet' first!_

_dude overdrived: Why don't you flip a coin?_

_Sora: Who argues over projects?_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 8: The Rikku and Kairi Projet**

_Before School...Wednesday Morning..._

Rikku and Kairi stood at the front of the school. They stared at each other fiercely. However, their stares were not looks of anger or annoyance. They were looks of determination. Both the girls were determined to win something...but what?

Sora and Riku watched the two girls. They were not exactly sure what was going on. Sora had gone through some pretty weird situations before in his life, one such situation questioning his orientation...it probably wouldn't be wise to go into detail. Anyway, just what was going on?

Riku turned to Sora. "Maybe they're going to fight?"

Sora scoffed. "Oh, come on. I bet they're fighting over a guy."

Riku chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. "Well, it makes sense. _I am_ a desirable object among the female community."

"You're such an idiot," Sora jokingly said as he lightly punched Riku's arm.

Kairi put her hand into her pocket. As she pulled it out, she held a closed hand in front of her. Rikku smiled. Sora and Riku waited anxiously for what was going to happen.

"Rikku...it's time."

Rikku nodded. Kairi then slowly opened her hand. The tension was building up. Riku licked his lips as he waited. Sora stared bug eyed at the hand. Rikku appeared to glare at the hand.

At last, Kairi completely opened her hand. Inside, the object that had built up so much tension was revealed to be...a quarter.

Sora frowned and gaped at Kairi. Riku scrunched his forehead and scratched his head.

"A quarter? Seriously? What's so great about a quarter?"

Kairi turned to Sora. She smiled. "It's not about the quarter. It's about what we're going to do with it."

Sora and Riku tensed up again. Riku looked at Sora and raised his eyebrows.

"Maybe they're flipping to see who is going to get to date me?"

"Get real, Riku. Maybe they're flipping to see which movie they're going to watch: _New Moon_ or _Harry Potter 7_. I forget the name of the seventh book."

Kairi looked up into the air. She drew in her breath. Then, she "punched" the air and flicked her thumb. The quarter went high into the air.

_Still going up..._

"Come on, quarter! Do it for ol' Kairi!"

_Slowing down..._

"Let's do this! Make me win!"

_Stopping at the top..._

"Heads! Heads for Kairi!"

_Going down faster..._

"Tails! Tails for Rikku!"

_...Hit the ground._

Kairi and Rikku peered down at the quarter on the ground. As they looked, the side facing up was revealed to be...heads.

"Yes! Yes! I win!" Kairi gleefully cheered.

Rikku grabbed her head. She looked up at the sky and screamed, "NOOOOO!!!"

"Aw, don't worry, Rikku," Riku sympathetically said as he wrapped his arms around both Kairi and Rikku. "After Kairi and I are done going out, you can go out with me!"

Both of the girls slapped Riku hard on the back of his head. He fell to the ground, clutching the back of his head.

"Ow..."

"We weren't flipping to see who would go out with you!" Kairi exclaimed. "We were flipping to see which project we would do first: Science or French!"

"Gah! I wanted to do science!" Rikku screeched.

Sora groaned. "You guys got _that_ dramatic over a project? I'll never understand girls."

Riku stood back up and rubbed his head. "If you don't learn how to deal with girls, you'll never have a girlfriend."

"Hey, you guys!"

Tifa hopped in on the group. She stared at her fellow friends with an eager face. "How're we doin' today?"

"Fine!" Kairi happily replied.

"Eh..." Rikku said half-heartedly.

Riku stared at Tifa. He then looked back at Sora. "Well except for her, maybe. I still don't get what she sees in you."

"Man, if I only I knew," Sora said with a light laugh. Tifa looked at him and smiled warmly.

"Sora, is it alright if we start our science project tomorrow?" Tifa asked sweetly.

Sora felt butterflies in his stomach upon seeing Tifa staring at him so lovingly. He blinked a few times and nodded.

"S-sure." He then looked at Kairi and Rikku. He shook his head while scoffing. "See how easy that was? No drama at all!"

-I-

_Passing Period: Between 2nd and 3rd Period_

Eventually, the bell rang for the end of 2nd period. Rikku rushed out of Mr. Nomura's class to go see Kairi early on the second floor. She waited at the bottom of the steps which led up to the third floor. She looked around impatiently for Kairi. Eventually, she spotted her head among the crowd. Kairi was walking toward the stairs, reading a piece of paper. Rikku hurriedly ran towards her.

"Hey, KAIRI!"

"Eeyah!" Kairi was shocked by Rikku's sudden arrival. Rikku greeted her with a great big grin that seemed like what a shark's grin would look like.

"Rikku, what are you doing here?"

"Well, since we're going to do the French _projet_ first, I might as well get into it! So I ran over here to meet up with you early so we could talk about the project on the way to class!"

Kairi giggled. "What a coincidence! I just so happen to be reading the paper Madam Russeau gave us regarding the project!"

Kairi put the paper in front of her so Rikku could read. Rikku took a careful look at it.

-

_Bonjour!_

The _Francois 1_ class shall now be starting their very first project. As an _étudiant/e _in my class, you must participate in the _projet_. This _projet_ will be worth 25% of your first quarter grade.

You **must** have a partner for this project, unless I have said otherwise. The two of you are to do an equal amount of work. You will both be given individual grades, as well as an overall grade that will affect the both of you.

You are to research any French speaking country, or a French speaking town that has a large culture. Here are a few examples of French speaking countries/towns:

_Radiant Garden (town)_

_Frencois (country)_

_Sylferland (country)_

_Traverse Town (town)_

_Newbia (country)_

_Nova Tario (province)_

_Enchanted Dominion (country/kingdom)_

These are merely a few of many French-speaking areas. You and your partner are to choose one of them. The two of you will make individual reports. One of you are to make a report about that area's culture and demographics. The other is to make a report about that area's history. These are the bulk of the _projet_. The final part involves the culture of the area. On your assigned day, you and your partner are to go to the front of the class and demonstrate your area's culture. Some examples are dances, clothing presentation, singing, anything involving culture. Your reports are due Thursday, September 10. Have fun with your _projet!_ It shall be _magnifique!_

-

"Gah! We only have three weeks to do this project! We need to get moving, moving, moving!" Rikku said, as if she was hopped up on sugar. So...she talked normally.

"I signed us up for Enchanted Dominion. That cool with you?" Kairi questioned.

"Totally! I think Princess Aurora is _soooo_ pretty!" Rikku stated.

"Um...sure..."

"Hey, Isla Domingo is full of connections to Enchanted Dominion! We could go to the 'Dominion Civic Center', and get a whole bunch of info! My brother could drive us there later!" Rikku happily exclaimed.

"That's perfect! I love you, Rikku!"

The girls squealed as they walked to Mr. Miller's class. Sora and Tifa were standing at the doorway. Sora looked as the two girls became overexcited about their project.

"I'll never get those girls. Who excites themselves over a project? Oh I'm sorry, _projet_?"

"Well, projects can be interesting." Tifa slid her hand into Sora's hand. He felt his heart beat faster.

"You know, for our science project, we could talk about the human anatomy. You know, hormones, and all that exciting stuff."

Sora released his hand from Tifa's hand. "T-Tifa! Stop talking about that sort of stuff! We're only fifteen year old freshmen!"

Tifa shrugged. "Fine, we'll keep that project idea for Biology class as seniors. Don't be so literal, Sora."

-II-

Rikku eagerly waited for her brother to come pick her up. Going along with her to Isla Domingo were Kairi, Sora, and Riku. Sora and Riku had only been to Isla Domingo a few times, and were quite interested in going there again. Riku himself could not drive the four of them as his parents did not allow him to drive the car to other islands.

"So, your brother is going to pick us up?" Sora asked again.

"Yep! He's in college, but he's on break for the rest of the week. He was planning to go to some club on Isla Domingo anyway, so it's all the more convenient!"

Then, Rikku heard a car going towards them. The four kids turned to look at the car. It was a blazing red Prius, looking quite new and shiny. The car pulled up to the kids. Rikku got into the passenger front seat, and the other three got into the back.

The driver, Rikku's brother, flashed her a smile. He then looked back on the other kids sitting in the back and grinned.

"I wanna set some rules. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT mess with my car! Don't come in here with wet clothes, don't come in here muddy, and do not come in here with anything sharp! Got it memorized?"

Sora, Riku, and Kairi looked at the red-haired man with slight fear in their eyes. They robotically nodded.

Rikku's brother laughed and turned back to look at the road. Rikku giggled and lightly punched her brother.

"You don't need to be so mean to them, _Lea," _Rikku said with a snicker.

"Don't call me that! My name is Axel! And it's not pronounced L - _ee_ - uh. Its pronounced L - ee. And again, don't call me that!" Axel roughly said.

Rikku giggled again and looked back at her friends. "My mom wanted to name him Lea. But my dad said that was too feminine, so he added an 'X' to the name, and named him Axel instead. Even though, my mom still calls him Lea to bug him."

"Ha! That's funny," Sora said, laughing. "Almost as funny as the fact that silver-hair here is named Riku, and miss blonde there is named Rikku!"

"Rikku and Riku, huh?" Axel said with a light laugh. "I got that memorized."

The car eventually reached the edge of Main Island. It was preparing to traverse across a bridge. Bridges were the main form of transportation across the Destiny Islands.

Axel snapped his fingers twice and held his hand to the three friends behind him. "There's a toll gate coming up. Give me four munny."

"Axel!" Rikku complained. "Don't you have munny?"

"I do. But I never said I'd drive you guys for free."

"Ugh, I'll give him the munny," Kairi offered. She dug into her purse, took out four 1-munny bills, and handed them to Axel.

"Thanks, red head," Axel said as he took the munny

The car eventually pulled up to the toll booth. Axel handed over the munny, and the car went on its way. As the drive continued, Axel opened up his glove compartment. He pulled out of it six munny bills, and handed them to Kairi. She took the bills happily, while Sora and Riku looked at Axel with an annoyed face.

"Hey, why'd you give her back the money? Plus 50 Percent?" Riku asked.

"She's the only one out of all of you who was kind enough to offer. I'm not completely heartless, so I gave it back to her. Got it memorized?"

Sora groaned. "Ugh, got it memorized, got it memorized, got it memorized! Don't you have anything new to say?!?"

"Nope," Axel simply said. He looked up at the rear view mirror and flashed Sora a toothy grin. "Got it memorized?"

-

Eventually, the group reached Lunaville, one of three towns located on Isla

Domingo. Sora noted Lunaville was not too different from his hometown of Destino City on Main Island. Lunaville was a bit midway between urban and rural. There were several parks and fields scattered across the town. There was also a mall, many buildings, and of course, the Dominion Civic Center.

Axel pulled up along one of the streets, next to a building that was named "The Organization". The five got out of the car. As Axel began walking to the entrance of the club, he patted Rikku's shoulder.

"Now you kiddies be back here by 7:00. No coming earlier, no coming later. Got it memorized?"

"Yeah, yeah, we got it memorized," Sora said, speaking for all his friends.

Axel nodded. "Good. The Civic Center is just around the corner from here. Don't get into trouble, ya hear?"

The friends nodded, and Axel left into the club. They then began walking towards the Civic Center, standing side-by-side.

"I like your brother, Rikku," Kairi stated. "He's really cool."

"You know what would be really cool? If he would stop saying 'got it memorized'," Sora said, exasperated.

"Why does that bother you so much, you baby?" Riku said in a babylike voice.

"I dunno, it just bugs me. It's always annoying to hear someone say the same thing over and over and over and over again."

"Would you shut up, Sora? You're annoying me," Kairi gruffly said.

"Oh, I'm sorry princess," Sora said mockingly.

"You mean Princess Aurora!" Rikku said in a high pitched voice.

"What are you talking about?" Sora questioned.

"Look over there! It's Princess Aurora!"

The group looked ahead of them. In front of them was the Dominion Civic Center. It had two large public buildings, one of which housed a large library. The other was the Domingo Community College. At the very front of the Center, there were many people cheering. Sora noticed a girl in a blue dress walking among the crowd. She was quite beautiful. Like Rikku said, it was none other than Princess Aurora, here at Destiny Islands all the way from Enchanted Dominion.

"Oh my gosh!" Kairi squealed. "We came here at the perfect time!"

"Woo, that's a pretty princess." Riku ran his hand through his hair and grinned. "Get ready guys. In a millisecond, I'm going to become the new king of Enchanted Dominion."

"You could be the king of Rikuland, and no one will give a crap!" Sora exclaimed.

Riku sneered. "Well at least in Rikuland, there are lovely maidens catering to my every whim! What do _you_ have over in Sora Kingdom?"

"_I _have people willing to listen to me!"

"_Ay, dios mio, no te pude hablar!_"

"Guys, shut up and let's go see the princess!" Rikku said, hopping up and down.

The friends ran towards the crowd. Princess Aurora began walking into the Domingo Community College. As they edged closer to her, dodging the crowd along the way, rough guards dressed in Enchanted Dominion attire caught the four of them and held them back. They looked at the guards angrily.

"We knows what youse kids are thinkin. No one is goin to ambush our princess on our watches, eh capisce?" one of the guards said.

"Well, for your information," Sora began, "I happen to know Princess Aurora personally."

The guards laughed. Riku, Rikku, and Kairi groaned and shook their heads.

"Yeah, like wese never hearda that one before."

"Are you guys even _from_ Enchanted Dominion?!?" Riku yelled. "You sound like something out of The Godfather!"

The guards set them down, gave them a warning, and went into the Community College. Other guards guarded the doors, discouraging the public from trying to go in.

Kairi gave Sora a dirty look. "Did you _really _think that's going to work?"

"It's true! I've met her before!"

"Yeah, and I shoot dark fireballs out of my hands," Riku said jokingly. He, Kairi, and Rikku laughed. Sora fumed.

"Well, we should just go into the other building. It's not like we can get into the college with those guards around..." Kairi said sadly.

"We can't just give up!"

The main trio turned to Rikku. She had a look of determination on her face, a look not too different from the face she had when facing Kairi in a coin flip.

"We came here all this way, and we have a perfect opportunity! If we could interview the Princess, she'd give us the best information out there about Enchanted Dominion! We'd have the best French _projet_ in the world!"

"...once again Rikku...there are big burly guards that will thrown us into the ocean if that kept the Princess safe!" Sora exclaimed, waving his hands in the air.

"We should have brought Tifa. She would have taken out those guards in two seconds flat," Kairi said.

"We don't need Tifa!" Rikku confidently said. "We have three hours! I'm sure that in that time, we'll come up with a crazy scheme, just like those crazy teenagers on the Disney Channel shows!"

-

Rikku waited outside the dressing rooms in the costume store. She was wearing a black suit with a white undershirt and sunglasses, the stereotypical attire of a guard. She tapped her foot and knocked on the three dressing rooms.

"Come on, you guys! We don't have all day!"

"This isn't going to work!" Sora called out.

"I hate to admit it, but I agree with him," Riku said.

"I look pretty...but this is still a big gamble," Kairi quietly said.

"Those guards are idiots! They won't know what hit them! And if we don't give it a try, we'll never find out, so come on out and shake your booties!"

The three muttered 'alright', and they came out of their dressing rooms. Sora and Riku were wearing the same guard suits that Rikku was wearing. Kairi wore a lavish dress with jewels (fake), many colors and an embroidered design.

Rikku happily clapped her hands. "We look perfect!"

Sora picked at the itchy suit he was wearing. "Rikku, can't we overthink th-"

"No no NO! We rehearsed the lines, so the show must go on! We only have two hours, so let's move it move it move it!"

Rikku hurriedly pushed her friends out of the store, dumping thirty munny bills on the counter, which was the fee for a three hour rental.

Albeit reluctantly, Sora, Riku, and Kairi got into position. Sora and Riku stood at Kairi's side. Rikku walked in front of them, attempting to look professional and serious.

The four walked to the doors of the Community College. Immediately, two guards stopped them. Luckily, none of them were the guards that caught the friends earlier.

"Eh, no one gets in heres unlesses theys got an invitation," the first one said.

Rikku put on an angry face. "Do you know who is standing behind me?!? Well, do you?"

The guards looked at Kairi. They shrugged. "Ain't anyones I've ever seen before, lady."

Kairi cleared her throat. "Gentlemen, I am appalled. Do you not know who I am? I am Princess Kairi of the land of Great England. For long, we and Enchanted Dominion have been allies. And yet, you refuse me entrance to see my fellow princess? I am disappointed in you gentlemen for not knowing about me."

The guards looked at each other and talked.

"Is Great England one of our allies? I forgots."

"I dunno. These could bese just a bunchas of weirdos who wants to sees the princess."

"Yeah, but what if she's the real deal? It'd look bads for us if we denied royalty."

The guards turned back to the wacky friends. They murmured for a little bit, and stepped aside.

"Alsrights, lady. You mays go in."

Kairi curtsied. "Thank you very much."

The four friends walked in, with three of them shocked that the plan actually worked. As they walked in, Riku said one line to both of the guards.

"A piece of advice. Stop talking like you're in the mafia! And no one says that many S's!"

-III-

Princess Aurora sighed and lay down on the couch in the staff lounge. She had just given a speech to a private party. It tired her quite a bit, and she felt like she needed a rest.

Suddenly, she heard a commotion outside the staff lounge. She sat up, curious as to what was happening. Then, the door immediately burst open. She saw four teenagers dressed up in ridiculous costumes, and four guards restraining them from coming into the room.

"Youse kids are liars! Ain't no such thing as Great England!"

Princess Aurora got up and walked over to the ruckus. "Guards, what is going on here?"

"Don't worrys, ma'am. These crazy kids weres tryin to ambush youse. We'll get em outta here."

Then, one of the kids, a spiky brunette male wearing a guard outfit, called out to Princess Aurora. "Hey, Princess! Don't you remember me?!?"

Princess Aurora took a closer look at the boy. She _did_ in fact know who he was. "Sora?"

The commotion grew silent. The other three kids looked at Sora in shock and amazement.

Aurora held a hand up to the guards. "Let them go. They'll be my guests."

The guards grumbled, but they released the kids. Still grumbling, they left them to go back to their positions.

-

Riku, Kairi, and Rikku looked at Sora in amazement.

"Sora, you really do know her?!?" Kairi asked in shock.

"Yes, we are familiar with each other," Aurora said, answering for Sora. "You see, Enchanted Dominion has political ties with the Haruka family, who Sora happens to be related to. One time, when the Haruka family came to Enchanted Dominion, they brought Sora with them, and the two of us became friends."

"Why didn't you ever tell me about that?!?" Riku asked with his voice squeaking.

"I did!" Sora protested. "You just laughed at me and threw sand into my ice cream!"

"...oh, yeah!" Riku remembered with a laugh.

"So, you're all here now. What can I do for you?" Aurora asked.

Rikku jumped in front of her. "Well you see, me and Kairi have a French _projet_! We have to research a French speaking country, and we chose Enchanted Dominion! Then we happened to see you here, and I decided, why go to the Internet and find unreliable sources when we have a primary source right here?!?"

Aurora smiled. "Well, I so happen to know just about everything about Enchanted Dominion. History, culture-"

"That's perfect!" Kairi squealed. "Will you _please_ tell us?"

Aurora thought for a moment. "...Of course. However, my explanation may be take about a while, at most an hour. Are you willing to stay that long?"

"OF COURSE!" the four kids happily yelled.

Aurora smiled and nodded. "_Valable. _Let's begin."

-

Rikku and Kairi managed to obtain very valuable notes from Princess Aurora. The Princess managed to finish the story of Enchanted Dominion by 6:50. Satisfied, the friends said their goodbyes and left. Then, they met up with Axel again. Axel drove Sora, Riku, and Kairi to Riku's house. Riku's car was parked outside.

"I'm sure pretty boy here has his license, so he'll drive you guys home. Got it?"

"Sure, _Lea,_" Sora said, pronouncing it incorrectly.

"It's Axel!" Axel yelled as he drove off. Rikku waved goodbye to her friends.

It was getting late, so Riku drove Kairi and Sora home. He first dropped Kairi off, then Sora.

"Now don't get in trouble, ya hear?"

Sora rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Whatever, man."

Sora went back into his house. Riku looked ahead at the road. It was time.

Riku drove to the General Store. Standing at the front of the store was a girl with braided brown hair. The girl opened the car door and went inside.

Riku nodded at the girl. "Ready?"

The girl nodded. "Yes."

-IV-

Cloud turned off the television set. He was not in the mood to watch it. Earlier, the doctor told him that he could go back to school tomorrow, and would only need a few bandages on some wounds. Other than that, things could go back to normal. Old, depressing, dark normal.

Someone knocked on the door to Cloud's hospital room. Cloud did not say anything. The door opened, and someone entered. It was Riku.

Cloud frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Riku crossed his arms. "I'm very disappointed with what happened yesterday, Cloud. _Really_ disappointed."

Cloud scoffed and turned his head. "Whatever. Just go home, I don't want to talk to you."

"Oh, _I'm_ not going to talk to you."

Cloud turned his head back to face Riku. Riku motioned for someone to enter the hospital room. A girl entered. Cloud knew who she was.

"Aerith?"

Aerith nodded. "Hi, Cloud."

Riku exited the hospital room and closed the door. Aerith and Cloud were alone in the hospital room.

"Why are you here?"

Aerith sat on the edge of Cloud's bed. She looked at him sympathetically. "Because I want to comfort you. I'm sorry I didn't come yesterday. I just...I don't know."

Cloud stared up at the ceiling. "Doesn't matter. Things will just go back to the way they once were."

Aerith stared at Cloud's eyes. "I heard...you finally told."

Cloud bit his lip. He looked away from Aerith.

"No, Cloud, this is good. It's a sign...that you're accepting it."

"No it's not! I killed him! I killed him Aerith, you should be furious at me!"

Aerith put her hand on Cloud's cheek. "No, Cloud, I'm not furious. And you didn't kill him. No matter what you or anyone else says, I will not for even a moment think that you killed him."

Cloud burst out into tears. Aerith cradled him.

"Aerith...I can't. I'm sorry, I can't..."

"You have to, Cloud. It's time to move on. Pray for Zack if you must. I do it every night. But I move on."

The tears were still flowing out. Cloud shook his head.

"He'll never forgive me."

Aerith put her head on Cloud's head and held him close. "I had a dream last night. Zack was in it. He told me that he missed the both of us dearly. He told me that the two of us should not destroy our lives only thinking about him. He said we have to move on. The last thing he said...was to tell you that he was your best friend, and you'll always be best friends. It was not your fault he died...he only did for you what best friends do for each other. He saved you."

Cloud looked at Aerith. His eyes were puffy and red. "I want to see him again. I want to tell him I'm sorry. But no matter what...I don't think I can move on."

"You can, Cloud." Aerith then tenderly kissed Cloud on the cheek. Cloud felt himself become calmer.

"You can move on, Cloud. If you won't do it for me...do it for Zack. Do it for your best friend's wishes."

The two embraced each other again. They stayed in that position for a long time. All the while, Riku was outside, leaning on the hospital door. He sighed.

"Zack...help him."

----------End----------

Kairi Dawson: A fifteen year old girl who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. She is childhood friends with Sora Keiman and Riku O'Reilly. She moved away to Radiant Garden when she was seven, but moved back to the Islands before her freshman year of high school started. Kairi is a kind girl, but her bipolarness can surprise most people. She enjoys shopping and roller skating. She also seems more adept at video games than even Sora. It is strongly replied that Kairi has romantic feelings for Sora. She sometimes finds herself fantasizing about him. She is also very clingy and slightly obsessive, which is shown whenever Sora becomes friends with other girls, including Rikku and Tifa. However, as time passed, she learned to accept that Sora would likely become friends with more females, and claims that she will be able to support Sora in any future relationships he has. However, whether this is an empty statement or not is yet to be confirmed.

**-End of Chapter. The next chapter will be another project themed chapter, this time involving Sora and Tifa's science project. Read and Review. Thanks.-**


	10. The Sora and Tifa Project

_Tifa: Sora, it's time for our project!_

_Sora: Ugh. Dumb projects._

_Riku: Why don't you do that 'anatomy' project?_

_dude overdrived: Sora, you know you want it._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 9: The Sora and Tifa Project**

_Before School...Thursday Morning..._

"Don't mope, Sora!"

Sora groaned. Tifa was trying to get him excited over their science project. Naturally, Sora was not too happy about it. All his life, he had never liked school projects. He always ended up slacking until the day before the project was due, which was not the best choice. He would end up either staying up until 5:00 in the morning making a sloppy report, or just winging a presentation. Either way always gave him the same grades: D, or in some lucky cases, D+ or C-. He would always tell himself that he would try harder the next time, but when that time came...meh.

This time, however, he would get his chance to do a better job. Had it been a solo project, he would do what he always did, and procrastinate. However, Tifa would not be content with a D or a C. She would work Sora to the bone so that the two of them would get a B or an A.

"But these projects are so boring. Why can't they give us fun projects, like making a model plane or something?"

Tifa ruffled her hand through Sora's hair. "If you want to be a successful surgeon, you have to get good grades!"

Sora grumbled. Kairi and Riku laughed.

"Sora would need someone to do some 'surgeoning' on his brain for him to get good grades!" Riku cackled.

Tifa brought her fingers to Riku's head. She flicked him hard.

"Ow!"

"Don't make fun of him!" Tifa ordered as she waggled a finger at him.

Riku and Tifa began arguing, with Kairi and Sora looking on with interest. A few feet away from them, Cloud and Aerith appeared. Aerith looked happy and animated. Cloud looked serious, but not nearly as serious as he had been the last two weeks...er, seven months. He had some bandages on a few of his body parts, but he was still quite strong. Aerith went behind him and gently pushed him towards the group of four friends. He reluctantly went forward.

"I don't know, Aerith," Cloud quietly protested.

"Connect with them, Cloud. I guarantee you that they'll be your friends in two minutes tops!"

"They might be uncomfortable being around me after how I was to them when they visited me."

"I can tell that they really care about you. I'm sure that they won't take that situation too seriously."

Cloud tried protesting again, but within a few moments, he and Aerith were standing right in front of the group. Riku and Tifa stopped arguing, and the four friends looked at the two, but especially Cloud. Tifa grinned.

"Hey, Cloud! Looks like you're doing good!"

Cloud looked down at the ground and scratched his head. "Y-yeah..."

Sora stepped towards Cloud. He patted him gently on the back. "How're you doin, man?"

Cloud gulped and struggled as he made eye contact with Sora. "I'm...fine."

Cloud let his eyes down to the ground again. Kairi went towards him. She crouched down to her knees so that she could make eye contact with Cloud. Cloud surprisingly did not find it very difficult to keep eye contact with her.

"You're looking well! Really well!"

Cloud nodded. Aerith smiled warmly. "He's doing wonderful."

Riku laughed and messed with Cloud's hair. "Maybe so, but I bet I could beat him up."

Cloud was surprised to find a small laugh escape through his lips. "Get real, I could beat you with my eyes closed."

Cloud caught what he just said. His sudden playful banter surprised even him. He hadn't been like this since he talked with Zack. Zack...his friend...his best friend...the friend he would always remember, even if he was no longer the only reason for both his and Aerith's existences...

Kairi laughed and playfully pushed Cloud. "Why don't you prove it?"

Cloud began to say something, but Aerith interrupted. "He's still kind of weak. But I'm sure he'll be able to do it some other time."

_Ring!_

The school bell rang. It was time for 1st Period. The group began walking into the school, with Cloud standing at their side. As Cloud walked, he chuckled and smiled. Perhaps now...things could finally be right.

-I-

Cloud and Riku departed for their Spanish class, the two of them now on good terms. Sora, Kairi, and Tifa were now headed towards French. Sora looked back at the two girls and smiled mischievously.

"Race ya!"

Sora sped off. The two girls were caught off guard, and then chased after him. As the girls shouted playful complaints, Sora ignored them and continued running. He knew that one of them would likely beat him, so he managed to escape through crowds of students. This strategy proved to work quite well, as Tifa and Kairi were held back by traffic of students. Sora went up to the top of the stairs leading up to the third floor, looked back at the girls, and blew a raspberry at them. He then continued running towards C Hall.

He reached C Hall, and was nearing room C1. He looked back, and saw that neither of the girls had yet to catch up with him. He looked at C1, laughed to himself, and proceeded to the door.

As he neared the door, he saw that Rikku was sitting at a desk near the door. She was talking to a friend of hers. Sora thought about who it was, and remembered that the emo girl's name was Paine. The two girls appeared to be talking about something really important.

"It's just...I don't know, Paine."

"Rikku, you're not normally this soft spoken."

_Ooh, this sounds important. It would be rude to eavesdrop...but no one will know, right?_

"I've never been this confused about something before!"

"How long have you even known the guy?"

_What guy? What guy is she talking about?_

"I've only known him for as long as school started. So, I guess maybe two weeks."

_Is Rikku talking about Riku? Or maybe Cloud? Or maybe me?_

"Rikku, that's hardly enough time for someone to feel like this."

"Not always! I guess, in my case, it _was_ enough time."

_Time for what?_

"So...are you admitting it?"

"...Yeah. I guess I am. The man I want...is Sora Keiman."

Sora felt as if a thunderbolt just struck him. All the students walking past _him_, the weird guy standing next to a classroom door with a creepy look on his face, they all stared at him. Sora did not even notice them. He just heard those words repeating over and over and over again...

_The man I want...is Sora Keiman._

Sora blinked rapidly. He just could not believe it.

_Wha-huh?!? Rikku?!? Likes me?!? She-she likes me?!? How the hell did that happen? How could a such a great and pretty girl like her be attracted to weird me?!?_

"Huh, so you like him. Want me to tell him?"

"No, don't Paine! I don't want him to get all shocked."

_Too late for that, girl._

"He's already got Tifa to think about, so I don't want to complicate things."

_Again, too late for that, girl._

-

Suddenly, Sora felt someone slap him hard on the back. He winced and dropped to the ground. Kairi stood above him and laughed.

"You're such an idiot! What were you doing, standing by the doorway?"

"Nothing! I was doing nothing!" Sora blurted out.

Kairi looked into the classroom. She saw Rikku and Paine sitting close to the door. "Were you eavesdropping on Rikku? You naughty boy!"

"Sora is naughty!" Tifa shouted as she suddenly appeared. She hugged Sora as he stood up from the ground. "Wait, why is he naughty?"

"He was eavesdropping on Rikku!"

"No I wasn't!" Sora screamed.

Kairi skipped into the classroom nonchalantly. Sora looked at her in horror as she walked a few feet over to Rikku.

"Hey, Rikku!"

"Hey, Kairi! What's happenin?"

Kairi looked at Sora. He dropped to the ground, and appeared to be begging Kairi not to tell Rikku that he was eavesdropping on her. Kairi grinned maliciously.

"Rikku, next time, do your discussing on the other side of the classroom!"

"Why?"

Kairi pointed at Sora. Sora was bug eyed and his face bright red. "Cuz Sora was eavesdropping on your conversation just now!"

"HE WHAT?!?!?!?!?"

Kairi flinched. She did not understand why Rikku had yelled so suddenly. Everyone turned to look at Rikku. She stood up from her desk, her face burning red, and turned to Sora. Sora abruptly shook his head.

"I swear, I wasn't eavesdropping! I didn't hear nothing!"

"He's lying," Paine said monotonously. "I can read his face like a book. He heard what you said to me."

Rikku stared at Sora in horror, her face magma red. Sora awkwardly smiled and shrugged.

Rikku grabbed her head with her hands, looked up at the ceiling, and screamed, "YAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Immediately after, Rikku sprinted out of the classroom. She didn't show any signs of wanting to stop.

Tifa called after her. "Wait, Rikku, class is going to sta-"

_Ring!_

-II-

_2nd Period: Sora - World History_

Sora tapped his feet anxiously. He looked at the desk behind him. Rikku still had not arrived. He sighed and faced forward.

"What could Rikku have revealed that was so embarassing?" Tifa asked.

Sora half-heartedly shook his head. "I dunno."

Tifa looked at him thoughtfully for a few more moments, and then turned around to face the front. Mr. Nomura was preparing to start the class.

"Ok class, today, we're going to watch a movie about-"

The door opened. Rikku walked in quietly. She was staring at the ground.

"Are we tardy, Ms. Grayson?"

Rikku slowly nodded. "I'm sorry, Mr. Nomura. It won't happen again."

Rikku shuffled her feet and slowly walked to her seat behind Sora. As she sat down, Sora turned to face her.

"Rikku, I-"

Rikku artificially smiled at Sora. "Later. Mr. Nomura doesn't like disruptions."

Sora looked at her for a few more seconds, sighed, and faced the front as Mr. Nomura continued talking.

-

_Lunchtime..._

It was now lunchtime. Sora, Riku, Kairi, and Tifa were hanging out where they usually hung out- a table at the 'entrance field'.

_"Sra, whats up wth Rkku?" _Kairi asked through a mouth stuffed with pizza.

Sora shrugged. "You got me."

Kairi gulped and swallowed the glob of food down. She then cleared her throat. "You know! You found out something embarassing about her when you were eavesdropping on her!"

"Well, if I found out something embarassing, wouldn't it be mean for me to tell more people?"

Kairi thought for a moment. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Tifa took out a piece of paper and smothered Sora's face with it. He pushed it away and spit on the ground. "Tifa, what the heck?!?"

"You need to focus, Sora! We've got a science project to think about! Now read this paper over!"

Sora groaned and took the paper from Tifa's hand. He read it over.

-

_Hello, _Conceptual Physics students!

Our conceptual physics class will now be beginning its first project. You must participate unless you want to fail. This project is worth 15% of your quarter grade.

**All** students must have partners. All partners must be from the same class period. No inter-period partnerships are allowed, unless I have said otherwise.

We are currently studying **motion**. Suitably, our project will be about motion. This project will involve two components: an experiment report, and a model.

You are to design an experiment involving motion. Here are some possible questions for an experiment:

_Do bikes move slower across rough surfaces?_

_How much faster can a car accelerate than a bike?_

_Can you alter air resistance to affect falling objects?_

These are merely a few of many different possibilities. Choose one that you are most interested in!

The experiment report must have all these parts: Title, Problem, Hypothesis, Procedure, Data Chart/Graph, Analysis, Conclusion. Refer to **pg R64** in your Conceptual Physics textbook for information about these different parts.

The model is the fun part of this project. The model does not necessarily need to be handmade. It could be a 'model' only involving two people performing the experiment. You could make a PowerPoint presentation. You could take pictures of you and your partner performing your experiment, or perhaps even record a video of it! As long as it involves the experiment in some way, I am okay with it.

Here is what I mean by a model. Say you are doing an experiment involving the motion of a ferris wheel. You could make a handmade model of a ferris wheel, and demonstrate how your model works. Or maybe make a PowerPoint presentation with pictures of a ferris wheel, and the different vectors it involves. These 'models' are meant to be physical representations of your project.

Your projects are due Wednesday, September 16. This should be enough time for you and your partner to finish your project. Remember to have fun with this!

-

"Aw, we only have a few weeks to do this," Sora complained.

"We have plenty of time, Sora! As long as you don't procrastinate!"

"But I love procrastinating," Sora whined.

"Good luck getting lazy over there to start working."

Sora and Tifa looked behind Riku. Behind him, Cloud was coming over, surprisingly interested in hanging out with them. He patted Riku on the back, and sat down.

"Hey, I'm not _that_ lazy," Sora retorted.

"He's right. When he's lying on his bed watching tv, it only takes him _5_ minutes to get enough willpower to reach for the remote he dropped on the floor," Kairi sincerely said.

_"It only take him 5 min, _blah blah blah," Sora mocked.

Cloud chuckled. "I feel sorry for you for being partnered with Tifa. She'll _make_ you finish the project early, by force if she has to."

Tifa flicked a pepperoni slice at Cloud's face. "_So_ not true."

Riku laughed. "Yeah, her _forceful_ method is to persuade Sora to do the project by sleeping with him."

This time, Tifa did not throw a pepperoni slice. Instead, she stood up, holding a piece of school pizza, and went over to Riku, and jammed the pizza in his face. She spread it all over his face, getting him all oily. Riku sputtered gibberish as he tried stopping Tifa.

"Hey, what was that for?!?"

"I hope your face breaks out and gets _huuuuge_ acne! Then you'll be a real pizza face!"

Riku screamed at the thought of having a pizza face. He leaped up, and ran into the school, possibly going to the restroom. The remaining group laughed. Cloud smiled and lightly laughed. These people could really be his friends.

-III-

_After School..._

"Think, Sora, think! What are we going to do for our project?"

Sora scratched his head. Right now, it was just him and Tifa standing at the entrance of the school, among other students. Riku had to drive Kairi home earlier, as she wanted to get a head start on writing her report for her French projet. Cloud was over at the gym, where the garden club was having holding a 'flower fair'. He himself was not in the garden club, but Aerith was. He went to the fair to be there for her. Rikku...who knows where she went?

"I can't do all the thinking. You need to help me out, here."

Tifa put her hand on her chin and started thinking. "...We need more time. Hey, come over with me to Boxers and Butchers!"

"Boxers and Butchers? That's a totally weird combo," Sora replied with a laugh.

"It's a place that has both a boxing area, and sells meat! They're perfectly harmonious!" Tifa gleefully said.

"What am I going to do over there?"

"We'll think! Together!" Tifa then put her hands on Sora's neck and smiled seductively. "And we can be alone..."

Sora turned red and laughed nervously. "Um...we can think. That's all."

Tifa took her hands off Sora's neck and smiled. "Great! So let's go!"

-

After taking the public bus, Sora and Tifa found themselves standing at the front of a seemingly small building. There was an illuminated sign at the top of the blue, decaying building reading 'Boxers and Butchers'. Both of the B's were unlit, so it instead seemed to say 'oxers and utchers'.

Sora looked at the building with disdain. "This place looks really old."

"And yet, it gets great business!" Tifa grabbed Sora's arm, and they ran into the building.

The front area was pretty basic. There were one or two chairs. There were piles of meat in glass cases with price stickers on plastic covering that covered the meat. Behind the selling area, there were black counters with blood and knives scattered everywhere. There were also three doors at the back. One read 'Freezer Room', another said 'Barret's Office', and the other read 'Boxing Studio'. There were several people cutting meat. One noticeable person was a tall, dark-skinned man cutting through pig meat as if it was butter.

Tifa waved to the tall, dark man. "Hi, Uncle Barret!"

The man, Barret, looked up fom his meat. He smiled through yellow and chipped teeth. "Hey hey, Tifa!"

"Wait, uncle?" Sora thought out loud.

"He's not actually my uncle, but a family friend. But I still like calling him Uncle Barret."

Barret waved at Tifa. "Just a minute girl!" He then looked back at the others cutting meat. "Hey, sh*tt*rs! This isn't a f*cking Thanksgiving dinner! Put your m*therf*cking backs into it! Come on, you c**ts! Cut faster!"

The terrified workers immediately focused all their attention on their meat and cut faster and faster. Sora looked at Barret in disbelief.

Tifa turned awkwardly to Sora. "Oh...and he has a bit of a potty mouth."

Barret turned back around and grinned at Sora and Tifa. "Sorry about that. Now what you kids want?"

"We just need a place to stay at so we can figure out a plan for our science project."

"Go in my office," Barret gruffly said. "Oh, and one more thing." He barked at one of his employees to bring him something. The employee came back with a tray that had some baby back ribs on it. Barret set it on the counter. "Eat some ribs while you're planning! Makes you big and strong!"

Tifa gave Barret a thumbs up. "Thanks, Uncle Barret!"

Tifa took the plate of ribs, and she and Sora walked to the door that said 'Barret's Office'. As they entered the office, Barret yelled at his employees again.

"Pick the f*cking knife up, Rick! Get to work, you c*cks*cker!"

-

Sora and Tifa sat down in Barret's Office. It was somewhat small, holding only two chairs, two tables, one computer, and piles of paper with grease on the edges. Tifa took one of the baby back ribs and sunk her teeth into it.

Sora watched as Tifa devoured the entire rib in mere seconds. She licked her lips, and looked at Sora. "You eating your rib?"

Sora shook his head, and Tifa grabbed the rib. She again finished it in mere moments. Afterwards, she patted her stomach and belched.

Sora chuckled. "That is so cool how you finish that so fast!"

"Mouth of steel!" Tifa said, pointing at her teeth. "Now, pitch me an idea!"

Sora exhaled and looked up at the ceiling. The rotting ceiling with spiderwebs along the corners. "Um...something with cars?"

"Like what?"

"Um...how much faster a car accelerates than a bike?"

Tifa groaned. "You just ripped that off of the paper!"

"Well, Mr. Miller never said we couldn't use that idea!"

"But I don't want our project to be so average!" Tifa exclaimed dramatically. "I want it to be at least the tiniest bit different, just like Kairi and Rikku's French project!"

"Well, we don't exactly have a princess that is an expert in motion!" Sora stated.

"Well, think then! Give me a little something!"

Sora closed his eyes. He thought hard. Very hard.

-

_Sora takes on a dare and drinks three Monsters in a row. He runs around Principal Middle School eight times. He collapses shortly after._

_Sora attempts to slide into Riku's car by going in through the window, like the Dukes of Hazzard. He fails miserably, hits his head on the side mirror, and is knocked out._

_Sora is rollerskating in the rink in the Destiny SuperMall. Riku bumps into Kairi, and sends her flying onto Sora. They are put in a suggestive position._

_Sora and Rikku finish riding the Final Velocity rollercoaster in Magic Kingdom. She pukes on him._

-

_"Magic Kingdom,"_ Sora murmured.

Tifa gasped. "That's great! The rollercoasters and ferris wheels and bumper cars all involve motion! The amusement park is the perfect model!"

"That place is also where we had our awkward first meeting," Sora quietly said.

Tifa put her hands on her hips. "Are you still hung over on that? It's over and done with! You have your new phone! I understand you didn't try to take perverted pictures of me! I'll gladly let you touch me nowadays!"

Sora was taken aback from that last comment. Tifa rolled her eyes. "You heard me."

"Um...so, Magic Kingdom?"

-IV-

Sora and Tifa entered the familiar amusement park. They used their season passes, so that they wouldn't have to pay the ridiculous one day price. Tifa took a look at the map of the park.

"Hey, didn't you go here with Rikku last week?"

"Yeah. Rikku..." Sora drifted off in his thoughts. He was still confused about Rikku's feelings for him.

"There's so much to do! Let's just walk around for now, looking!"

Sora nodded, and the two wandered through the park. Sora was enjoying this time. It was just him and Tifa, the girl he shared so much in common with. The girl who would stand at his side. The girl who confessed to him.

A girl wearing a Magic Kingdom uniform walked to Sora and Tifa. She held up a camera. "Want a photo?"

Tifa grinned. "Yes please!" She then locked arms with Sora and rested her head on his shoulder. Sora sighed contently at this closeness.

_Flash!_

The girl gave Tifa a ticket. "By the way, you two look really good together!"

Sora grinned and nodded. "Thanks!" Sora gasped to himself and shut his mouth. He was not happy that his problems were escalating. First the Rikku confession, and now this sudden acceptance of feelings for Tifa.

_Wait, hold on a moment! Just what is going on? I...I thought I liked Kairi. But wait...didn't I like Rikku afterwards? But now...I think I like Tifa? Or maybe...all three?_

-V-

Rikku exhaled a large breath. She was in her room, her bright yellow room. She was sitting on her bed, working on a rough draft of her French projet. She had been working for perhaps two hours, but she had only finished a tiny paragraph. She had many things on her mind. She couldn't think straight.

Rikku whined and lay her head on her pillow. She picked up another pillow, covered her face with it, and screamed as she kicked her feet in the air.

_What is wrong with me!?!_

_Bzz! Bzz!_

Rikku took the pillow off of her face. She looked over at her buzzing phone. The buzzing signalized that she just received a text. She picked up her phone to see who the text was from. It was from **Sora Keiman**.

Rikku gulped. She was nervous about what Sora would say. Now that he knew about her feelings for him, she was not sure if things could be the same again. Rikku was disgusted with how she was feeling right now. _Rikku Grayson_ does not mope. _Rikku Grayson_ does not whine and be unhappy. _Rikku Grayson_ does not get disgusted with her feelings.

With a sigh, she opened the text Sora sent her. It was a simple, slightly long, two sentence text.

**Dont let wut hapened ruin things between us. were so close, i dont want anythin to tear us aprt**

Slowly, a smile appeared on Rikku's lips. Sora truely wanted things to not change. He was not the only one.

Rikku composed a simple, one word reply, before going back to work on the best projet ever.

**Ok**

-

_Dear Diary,_

_Once again, this is Rikku Grayson. Today is Thursday, one of the craziest days of my life. It only started off bad. I was so confused about my feelings for Sora. I decided to talk to Paine about it. Then again, why did I go to an emo girl for love advice? XD Just kidding. Anyway, I ended up confessing my feelings for Sora to Paine. Little did I know, Sora was listening in on my conversation! Eek! I was so embarrased, I ended up skipping 1st period altogether! Anyway, I did go to 2nd Period. Sora tried to talk to me, but I rebuffed him. In 3rd period, I felt so relieved that we would spend the entire class outside doing an experiment with bikes. This was so I wouldn't have to interact with Sora very often. I ended up avoiding him for the rest of the day._

_A little around 5, Tifa texted me, telling me that she and Sora went to Magic Kingdom, the place of their ugly meeting. She told me that their project would be about the motion of a roller coaster, and they're planning to go to the park again next week. Darn, I should've thought of that idea!_

_Back to Sora...I just don't know what to make of it. He texted me around 7, telling me that he didn't want our friendship to be torn apart. He wants things to stay the same. But can they really stay the same? Can they?_

----------End----------

Rikku Grayson: A fifteen year old girl who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. She attends Destiny Academy, along with Sora Keiman, Riku O'Reilly, Kairi Dawson, Tifa Lockhart, and Cloud Strife. It is unknown which area of Destino City she lives in, or if she even lives in that particular city. Rikku is a very hyper, cheerful, and down to earth girl. She is very optimistic about most things, and is eager to make new friends, as shown by her eagerness to get close to Sora. She has confessed to her friend Paine that she has feelings for Sora. When she found out Sora had heard about this, she freaked out and avoided Sora the entire school day. Even before she confessed, it was implied she had feelings for him. During that time, she appeared to be laid back about her feelings for him, completely contrary to Kairi's feelings. It is not yet known as of this chapter if she truely keeps her close bond with Sora.

**-So, this chapter mainly had two main parts: Rikku's confession, and Sora and Tifa getting closer. I'm particularly disappointed that it was not as project-themed as I hoped it would be. I just found it hard to make a storyline revolving the project. It was a lot easier for the **_**projet**_**. I want to ask: did I make Barret swear too much? Did he curse that much in Final Fantasy?-**


	11. The Island of the Paopu Fruit

_Kairi: Cloud, we should hang out today!_

_Cloud: Um..._

_Sora: Wait, huh?!? Kairi and Cloud!?!_

_dude overdrived: Don't jump to conclusions, Sora._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 10: The Island of the Paopu Fruit**

_Saturday morning..._

_"Come on, Spongebob!"_

"Seen this episode."

_"Today, on Man vs. Food-"_

"Nah."

_"Cause Phineas and Ferb are gonna-"_

"Man..."

Cloud flipped throught the television channels hopelessly. Nowadays, there weren't very many good Saturday morning channels. Sure, there was Spongbob. But a guy gets bored of that once in a while. With boredom certain, Cloud turned off the television.

Cloud was alone in his house right now. His mother worked on Saturday, from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. It was just a little job at the McDonalds to bring in a little more money for them, as Cloud's father had died when Cloud was only 2. Cloud had pretty much gone his entire life without a father figure. Eventually, Cloud was planning to get a small job so his mom could just relax on weekends.

Cloud went over to the kitchen and made himself a little cereal bowl. As he was munching down on his Captain Crunch, he heard the doorbell ring.

_Ring!_

Cloud got up and went over to the door. He opened it to find one of his classmates from Destiny Academy. You know, that red headed one. She had a large purse, and wore a pink tank top and short shorts. Maybe too short...

"Hey, Cloud!"

Cloud raised his eyebrow as he looked at Kairi. He looked over her head to see if anyone else was with her. Kairi politely shook her head.

"Nope, it's just me!"

"Um, Kairi? Why are you here at my house? Wait, how did you even find out where I live?" Cloud asked with uncertainty.

"I have my ways," Kairi said mischievously. "Anyway, you're not doing anything today, are you?"

Cloud slowly shook his head, from left to right. Kairi grinned.

"Great! Then you're gonna come with me!"

"Huh? To do what?"

"Just come on!"

Kairi grabbed Cloud's arm and began dragging him out of his house. Cloud yelled at the surprisingly powerful young lady.

"K-Kairi!"

-I-

"I got the high score, the global high score..."

"No you don't!"

"I so do!"

"Eh..."

"Uh..."

"No!!!"

"Yes!!!"

Sora yelled out in anguish. Riku punched the air in victory. He and Sora were just going against each other on a game on Riku's iPod Touch. Riku had just beaten Sora. Well, to make more sense, Riku _pwned_ Sora.

"Unfair! I was totally beasting on you!" Sora complained.

"Not unfair at all, dude! I _owned_ you!" Riku proudly stated.

"Hey, if it weren't for those stupid power ups, you would've totally lost!"

"Hey, you shut up! _You_ yourself used those power ups to catch up to me in the first place!"

Sora and Riku continued barking at each other. They were currently in the park, sitting on a bench. People walking by stared at the two arguing adolescents. A little distance away from Sora and Riku, a certain redhead was dragging a certain blonde by the arm.

"Kairi, where are you taking me?!?"

Sora stopped yelling. He looked behind the bench. Several yards away, he saw Kairi and Cloud. Kairi was dragging Cloud, Cloud was protesting.

"Hey, what's Kairi doing with Cloud?" Sora asked.

Riku took a look at the two of them. "Beats me. Hey, maybe they're going on a date!"

Sora looked at Riku with disgust. "Oh, come on Riku! Kairi and Cloud?!? That's a completely random match up!"

"Ooh, getting jealous?" Riku snickered, poking Sora in the ribs.

Sora swatted Riku's hands away. "Uh, keh, what?!? Y-you don't know what you're talking ab-about!"

"Sora, I know you're lying. You always stutter and sputter when you're lying!" Riku said as he crossed his arms.

"S-so not true!"

"Not true? Sora, when you were lying to your mom so you could go with me to ride rollercoasters, you repeated practically every single word! And you threw up afterwards!"

Sora was not sure if this was true. He tried remembering back to that time...

-

_"Mom, can I go ride roller coasters with Riku?" Sora politely asked._

_"Did you do what I asked you to do?" Mrs. Keiman replied._

_Sora tugged at the collar of his shirt. He gulped. "Uh, wh-what are you talking about?"_

_"You know what I mean. Did you finish your homework?"_

_"I, uh, well, I, uh, I finished, um, I finished, the homework, uh, homework, I think I finished it."_

_Riku, who was standing next to Sora, groaned and slapped his own head._

_Mrs. Keiman looked at Sora fiercely. "Sora, are you lying to me?"_

_Sora began whimpering. He then turned a little green..._

-

"...Oh...yeah..." Sora then turned to face Riku. "But, wait, that only happens when I have to lie to my mom! When it's with other people, I can lie perfectly fine!"

"Well, you do a crappy job of it," Riku grumbled.

"Would you be quiet and come with me to follow those two?" Sora asked, exasperated, as he got up from the bench.

"Ok." Riku also got up from the bench. He flashed Sora a white grin. "If the little green monster starts knocking on your door, don't answer!"

Sora rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, I stopped believing in that when I turned 10!"

-

"High speeds, Kairi!"

The man began his motorboat. Kairi and Cloud were sitting next to him at the wheel.

"Thanks, Mr, um, Tidus's dad!"

"Call me Jecht, young'un!"

Cloud, bored, blew up into his hair. He still did not know why Kairi had dragged him here to this strange man's boat. Sure, he could've fought Kairi, so that he could be at home right now munching on his Captain Crunch. But, you can't hit a girl, right?

"Kairi," Cloud began, "where are we going?"

"Well, spiky hair, we're goin to that there li'l island!" Jecht answered.

Jecht pointed into the horizon. Cloud could see an island that was not too far away. Even from far away, he could see shrubbery, a shack-like structure, and a miniature island connected to the other island by a wooden bridge. Cloud was familiar with the island, but had never been there.

"Island Small? Why are we going to Island Small?" Cloud asked.

Kairi giggled. "You'll see."

-

Riku was angry with the situation. Sora was not much happier with it. Sora and Riku were currently in a canoe, barely making their way to Island Small. A little while ago, the two barely saw, over the horizon, a man dropping Kairi and Cloud off at the island. Naturally, Sora wanted to follow them, which Riku reluctantly went along with.

Riku was paddling the small boat. Sora was doing the same. The two of them were getting very tired with the trip, and it did not seem like they were even halfway through to the island yet.

"Sora, this is really-frickin dangerous! This boat could tip over right now, and no one would notice us!"

"Riku, relax, we'll be fine! I just need to find out what those two are up to!"

"Face it, Sora, they're on a date! They're going to the most secluded island in the entire Destiny Islands!"

"They're not dating!" Sora angrily protested.

Riku suddenly thought of something. Something that was sure to set Sora off. He smiled at Sora. "You know what I think? They're gonna go share a paopu fruit."

Sora's face boiled with anger. He resisted the urge to beat the smile off of Riku's face, as the smallest ruckus could tip the canoe over.

"Shut up! You couldn't be any more wrong in your entire life!"

Riku laughed. "Face it, you're jealous!"

"AM NOT!!!!!!!!!"

-II-

Eventually, Jecht and the kids landed on Island Small. They got off the boat. Jecht gave the kids a toothy grin.

"Now don't get lost, ya hear?"

Kairi nodded. "Don't worry about us, Jecht!"

"Now I'll be in the shack doin some of me business! Holla if you need me!"

Kairi said her farewell as Jecht entered the shack. Cloud roughly grabbed Kairi's arm.

"Alright, now that the geezer's gone, you can tell me why you dragged me here!"

"Well, I had something I wanted to do, and I didn't want to be alone!"

Cloud looked at Kairi in disbelief. "That's it?!? Why didn't you ask another one of your guy friends, or Tifa or Rikku?"

Kairi looked at the ground. Her face was red. "Well, what I want to do is awkward with any of those other people. It had to be you."

Cloud gulped. He was not sure what Kairi meant by those words. However, he _did_ jump to a conclusion involving infatuation...

"Um...what do you mean?"

Kairi looked up at the sky and tapped her cheek. "The thing is, Sora, Riku, Rikku, and Tifa would take things the wrong way if they found out about what I wanted to do. So, I needed someone unbiased to be with me."

"Again, what do you want to do here?"

Kairi smiled. "I want to get a paopu fruit."

Cloud scrunched his forehead. "A paopu fruit?"

Kairi sighed contently. She clasped her hands together and looked up at the sky dreamily. "They say that when two people share a paopu fruit, their destinies will, no matter what, be intertwined. It's so beautiful."

Cloud scratched his forehead. "Um...and just _who_ are you planning to share this fruit with?"

Kairi waggled her finger at Cloud. "I'm not telling you!"

Cloud grumbled and crossed his arms. "Good, I didn't want to know anyway!"

Kairi giggled and patted Cloud's head, further angering him. "That's a good boy!"

Cloud grumbled some more incoherent words. Kairi only smiled.

"Well, come on!"

Kairi ran off to the bridge that led to the miniature island. Sighing, Cloud ran after her.

After crossing the bridge, Cloud took a good look at the small island. It was pretty circular and barren, except for a bent tree. Kairi was inspecting the tree, looking frantically.

"Oh, no!"

Cloud ran over to Kairi. "What's wrong?"

Kairi looked at him with distressed eyes. "There aren't any paopu fruits!"

Cloud himself took a look at the bent tree and its branches. Sure enough, there wasn't a single fruit in sight.

"Are there supposed to be paopu fruits on this particular tree?"

"Yes! Man, I just _need_ to find one!"

Cloud sighed and put a hand on Kairi's shoulder. "Well, sorry, but it doesn't look like there are any here. We should tell Jecht to bring us back to Main Island."

Kairi stomped the ground angrily. "Absolutely not! I came all this way!"

Kairi turned around to face Island Small again. She looked carefully at the large trees in the back of the island. "There's gotta be another paopu fruit tree! Maybe I'll find one deeper in the island!"

"Whoa whoa, Kairi! Neither of us know this island very well! We could get lost!"

"Fine! If you want to stay here, be my guest! _I'm_ gonna get that paopu fruit if it's the last thing I do!"

With that said, Kairi ran off to the dense trees. Cloud grasped his head. This girl was seriously going to give him a migraine. With great reluctance, he ran off after her.

-

_Gasp! Gasp!_

Sora and Riku finally reached Island Small. The minute they landed, the two jumped out of the canoe and onto the dry land. They were extremely tired and worn out.

With contempt, Riku grabbed Sora's neck. He stared at Sora with demonic eyes.

"Never...again."

Sora heard a door open. He looked up to see a man exit the shack. He was the same man that brought Kairi and Cloud to the Island in the first place.

The man took a look at the two kids washed up on the beach, close by a crappy canoe. He recognized both of them.

"Sori and Rika? That you two?"

"Mr. Jecht?"

Jecht laughed heartily and helped the two of them up. "I'll be a son of a gun! What're you two doing here?"

"Um, we noticed that you brought Kairi and Cloud here."

"That's right, young'un! Li'l Kairi wanted to find a little fruit!"

Riku grinned with contempt at Sora. "I told ya. She and Cloud are going to share a paopu fruit."

Sora growled. "We don't know that for sure!" He looked at Jecht, his face bright red. "Jecht, where'd the two of them go?"

"Well, they were on that li'l island there, where Kairi told me that there weren't no more fruits! So, they went off into the Small Forest."

"We'll go there too!" Sora said with determination.

"Goo' luck!" Jecht turned to go back into the shack. "So long, Sori and Rika!"

Riku stared at Jecht as the big man went back into the shack. He then turned to face Sora. "Why does he give us girl names?"

-

Kairi rushed through the forest, with dirt and grime on her clothing. Cloud followed her, with a few scratches on his arms and legs. He was quite fed up with this nonsense.

"Geez, this island is a lot bigger than everyone thinks!" Kairi complained.

"Kairi, let's just get out of here! We'll get lost!" Cloud yelled.

"Don't be a wuss, Cloud!"

"I-AM-NOT-A-WUSS!!!"

Cloud sprinted forward, getting ahead of Kairi. "Come on, you wanna find that paopu fruit or not?!?"

Kairi nodded, and she continued going forward. Suddenly, she felt something grab her leg. She shrieked as she fell to the ground.

Cloud ran back to her. "Kai!"

"Ew, get away from me!"

Kairi screamed as she tried to kick away at the thing that grabbed her. It eventually let go. It was a dark bug-like thing with large yellow eyes.

Cloud examined the specimen. "It's a Shadower. An endangered species of animal indigenous to a few of the Destiny Islands, such as Island Small, Silver Island, and Isla Domingo."

Kairi yelled 'ew' over and over as she brushed her leg. "That thing is gross and creepy!"

"Relax, it's just a baby one. It's harmless!"

Cloud laughed it off like it was nothing. But then, an even larger animal appeared behind the Shadower. It looked exactly like a normal Shadower, only three times as big.

Cloud stopped laughing. His voice began shaking. "B-but, a M-Mega Sh-Shadower..."

Kairi and Cloud stared in fear at the Mega Shadower. It prepared to lunge at them.

"Eek!"

"Gah! Run for your life!"

With full speed, Kairi and Cloud ran as fast as they could away from the family of Shadowers. The Shadowers stayed in place, staring bug-eyed at the two odd human.

-

"This island is not small at all!"

Riku and Sora were trudging through the Small Forest. Riku had dirt on his shirt and hair, and Sora had some twigs in his crazy gravity-defying hair.

"Sora, we're seriously gonna get lost. We should head back."

"We can't! What if Kairi and Cloud are lost in there? We have to get them back!"

"It doesn't matter if we find them, cause then we'll still be lost!"

Riku mumbled some curses as he continued walking forward. He _was_ worried that Kairi and Cloud may have gotten lost, but he was also worried about his own "lostness".

"Sora, why do you care so much, anyway? Maybe what they're doing is private. We'd be invading their privacy!"

"We're not invading anything! They're just doing something normal, not something that needs privacy at all!"

"Just face it Sora! Kairi's moved on! She doesn't like you anymore, and she's now interested in Cloud!"

Sora smacked the back of Riku's head. "First of all, I don't care about what Kairi thinks about me! Second of all, Cloud likes Aerith, not Kairi!"

"Well, Kairi _is_ pretty cute. You see how hot she looks in her outfit today?"

"She's only wearing that tiny outfit because it's 100 degrees out here!"

Riku stopped walking and pointed a finger at Sora. "You're in denial!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

Riku and Sora stood among the shrubs, bickering. As they were arguing, a Shadower crawled over to where they were. Riku stopped yelling.

"Aw, it's a little Shadower!" Riku bent down to look into the Shadower's face. "You lost little guy?"

"Riku, you don't know where that thing's been!"

Suddenly, the Shadower jumped back. Sora and Riku looked to see a Mega Shadower standing behind it. It appeared angry.

"Riku, that Mega Shadow thing is going to kill us!" Sora said fearfully.

"Aw, phooey! I'm not scared of that thing!"

Riku really didn't think things could get worse. The problem with Riku, though, is that he always takes things for granted. And as if on cue, the biggest problem ever appeared right behind the Mega Shadower. It was a Shadower that was three times as large as a Mega Shadower, and six times as big as a regular Shadower.

Riku screamed like a little girl who just saw a spider. "It's a bear!"

Sora grabbed Riku's shirt. "No, you idiot, it's a Giga Shadower!"

"I'm getting the hell out of here!" Riku ran away from the scene, whimpering and crying like a baby.

"Don't leave me here!" Sora ran after Riku. The Shadower family looked at each other and 'shrugged'.

-III-

Eventually, Kairi and Cloud escaped the dense forest. Panting, Cloud fell to the ground in exhaustion. He was hoping that they could find that paopu fruit soon, as he could not take anymore of Island "Small".

"They've seriously got to rename this island!" Cloud blurted out.

"Well, we're this deep in. We might as well keep going."

Kairi looked at the area ahead of them. There was a tiny river of flowing water that could be easily traversed over through a group of large stepping stones. She saw that up ahead, there was more forest. More dense, dangerous, dirty forest.

Kairi groaned. "Come on."

As Kairi took a step forward, she saw the prize that she had searching for all day: the paopu fruit. It was floating in the river, going quickly. Kairi made haste as she ran towards it.

"Paopu! Paopu!" Kairi shouted as she held her arms towards the fruit. The flowing river was making the distance between Kairi and the fruit larger and larger.

"Paopu!" Kairi continued running, failing to see a rock sticking out of the ground. She tripped on it, and began stumbling forward.

"Whoa, whoa!"

"Kairi!" Cloud rushed to catch Kairi, but his own shoe got caught in an indent in the ground. He stumbled forward, grabbing Kairi and making her turn around to face him.

"Yah!"

"Ah!"

_Thud!_

The two fell to the ground. Groaning, Cloud used his hands to support himself off the ground. It was then that he noticed the awkward position he and Kairi were in. He was hovering above Kairi, and she was on the ground facing up. The two gulped at the extreme awkwardness.

Cloud felt his heart beating faster. This was the first time in his life that he had been in a situation like this. It felt so uncomfortable, so embarrasing...so warm?

Cloud had never thought anything of the girl. In fact, he didn't quite recall thinking about any girls, other than Tifa and Aerith, which were strictly professional thoughts. But then, Cloud remembered back to when Kairi had once tried to make friends with him. She was so persistent, and was always friendly. He wasn't even sure if Aerith had even been like this with him. But, moving onto Kairi would be wrong. She is Sora's girl, right?

"Um...Cloud?"

"Y-yeah, Kairi?"

"Would you mind...getting off of me?"

Cloud blinked. "Oh, right, sorry."

Cloud got up back standing. He helped Kairi get back up, as well. He drew his gaze away from her as he scratched his head, trying to forget about the situation that just happened.

Kairi, however, did not seem to be thinking much of it. She only stared off into the distance, where the paopu fruit had drifted off to. "Aw, man! I could've had that paopu fruit!"

"Don't worry Kairi. I'm sure we'll find another."

Kairi nodded. "Hey, the fruit came from that direction, right?" Kairi pointed in the direction where the paopu fruit had come from. "Maybe there's more over there!"

Kairi and Cloud set off once again, still unaware of the two friends following them.

-

Sora and Riku finally emerged from the dense forest. Panting, Sora grabbed his chest as he tried catching his breath. "So...tired..."

"Sora...if we ever make it out of here alive...I'll kill you."

"Right back at ya."

Sora scanned the area, searching for any signs of where Cloud and Kairi could have gone to. He was right by a tiny flowing river, on a small trail. He saw footprints on the trail heading off to the east.

"Footprints! I bet that's where Kairi and Cloud went off to!"

Sora began running in the direction of the footprints. Riku chased after him. Sora failed to see a rock sticking out of the ground. He ended up tripping on it, and stumbled forward.

"Whoa, whoa!"

"Sora!" Riku rushed to catch Sora, but his own shoe got caught in an indent in the ground. He stumbled forward, grabbing Sora and and making him turn around to face him.

"Gah!"

"Ah!"

The two fell to the ground. Groaning, Riku used his hands to support himself off the ground. Now, Riku had been in plenty of awkward situations his entire life. That one time when his mom made him wear a girl's outfit around the entire mall. The other time when he had accidentally groped a girl's breasts. However, this situation was definitely one of the worst and most embarassing of all.

Riku looked in horror at the boy laying under him. Sora looked in surprise and shock at the boy hovering above him. The two were in an _extremely_ suggestive situation, and if there were any witnesses, their personal lives would forever be ruined.

Riku lept off of Sora and gagged. Sora crawled over to the river and gagged as well.

"Gross, that's disgusting!" Sora yelled in pure disgust.

"No, no way man, I don't roll that way!" Riku said in an outburst.

Sora got up and ran off in the direction of the footprints once again. "You can just rot there! I'm going!"

-IV-

Cloud and Kairi soon found themselves on the edge of the island. Kairi looked around hopelessly for a paopu fruit tree. She sadly sighed.

"This was a waste of time. We didn't find any paopu fruits."

Cloud looked sympathetically at the girl. He then looked around the area, determined to find that magical tree. Then, he saw it. Maybe a quarter of a mile away, he saw another bent tree. And on that tree's branches, he could see a faint outline of the wonderful paopu fruit. They had made it.

"Kairi, over there! It's the paopu fruit!"

Kairi turned to where Cloud motioned for her to look. Immediately, she was overtaken with joy. "Oh boy oh boy oh boy!"

Kairi and Cloud ran to the tree. Once they got there, Kairi picked off one of the paopu fruits and looked at it lovingly. "We finally meet, little paopu."

Cloud watched with amusement at the girl ogling over the fruit. Kairi then put the fruit in her purse. She looked at Cloud and smiled. "All right, time to go back!"

"Kairi! Cloud!"

Kairi and Cloud turned to the sound of the voice. To their surprise, they saw Sora running to them. Riku was following Sora.

Kairi was shocked to see her friends. "Sora? Riku? What are you two doing here?"

Sora stopped running when he caught up to the two. He panted heavily. "We...were...looking...for you guys..."

_Slap!_

Sora fell to the ground. Cloud turned to look at Riku, who had roughly slapped Sora to the ground. Riku was very angry. "You're dead, Keiman!"

Sora and Riku prepared for a scuffle, but Cloud went between them. "Whoa, hold on guys! What happened to you two?"

"You don't need to know!" Riku blurted, suddenly getting defensive.

Sora crossed his arms and tapped his foot as he looked at Kairi. "Okay, what's up with this business with you looking for a paopu fruit? With Cloud?"

Kairi held her purse tight to her body. "How-how did you find out?"

"Jecht. Now tell me."

Kairi stared at the ground and ran her foot across it. She was thinking hard. "Um...well, Selphie likes this guy at school. So she asked me to get a paopu fruit for her so she could share it with the guy. I owed her, as I had a major history test, and she helped me study for it and ace it."

Sora was unsure if Kairi's story was true or not. But as he was about to talk again, a man's voice rung out from the water.

"Ho, kids!"

The kids turned to the ocean. They saw Jecht and his motorboat. "You kids need a ride back to Main Island?"

"Oh, yes!" Sora and Riku yelled out in unison. They ran to the motorboat, desperate to get back home. Cloud and Kairi walked over to the motorboat.

"Kairi, is that true? Is the fruit only for Selphie?" Cloud asked.

"Um...sure?"

-V-

Nomura sat at his computer in his fancy bedroom. On the computer screen were lists and pictures of many freshmen from Destiny Academy. All of them wanted to join the World Cultures Club.

"It's time to find the lucky six."

Nomura moved the mouse to a tiny menu. There were two prompts: one asking how many to choose, another being a command button saying "CHOOSE".

Nomura put "6" in the "how many" section. He then hovered his mouse over the "CHOOSE" button.

Nomura grinned. "Now."

_Click._

The lists of people began randomizing, and the screen constantly changed. This continued for about 10 seconds. Then, it ended. Now, on the screen, were the pictures, names and ID numbers of six freshmen from Destiny Academy. They were the lucky ones who would be in the Club.

Nomura chuckled. "Welcome to the Club."

-

_...Ding!_

"It's done!"

Kairi put on her oven mitts. She then opened the oven and took out the item that was cooking in it. She had finally baked it.

After Kairi got back home, she had immediately begun baking a small, yet very special cake. The secret ingredient in the cake was...paopu fruit.

If you had not already guessed, Kairi was lying when she said she was getting the paopu fruit for Selphie. It was for a certain someone else...

Kairi set the cake tray on her counter. The cake was golden and good-smelling. It smelled fruity and delicious. The smell was mouth watering. However, the cake was small. It seemed like enough for only two people.

Kairi stared at the cake lovingly. "Sora...will you share this cake with me?"

----------End----------

Tifa Lockhart: A fifteen year old girl who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. She attends Destiny Academy with Sora Keiman, Kairi Dawson, Riku O'Reilly, Cloud Strife, and Rikku Grayson. She possibly lives in Destino City, but was born on Isla Tierra. Tifa is a mature girl, but still gets caught up in gossip and fashion. She is also very strong, which she claims she inherited as part of the Lockhart Generation. She greatly dislikes perverts, going so far as using her incredible strength to beat them into submission. Tifa is very attracted to Sora. Initially, the two had a bad start, due to a misunderstanding at Magic Kingdom. However, over time, Tifa grew to like Sora, and became attracted to him. She is the most outward of her feelings for Sora, not holding any inhibitions about proclaiming her feelings for him to the world. She attempts to seduce him with her charm, but does not go so far as to attempt seduction into bed (although she has joked about it). She is not yet aware of Kairi's nor Rikku's feelings for Sora.

**-Finally got this chapter up. To any of you guys complaining about Jecht, I'm sorry that I forgot to put up a notice talking about **

_**Jecht's EXTREME OOCness.**_

**His characterization in this chapter was intentional. Anyway, in the next chapter, we'll find who are the lucky members of the World Cultures Club, but I'm sure you guys have already guessed it.-**


	12. It's Time! The Chosen Ones!

_Nomura: Hello kids._

_Sora: Mr. Nomura! Am I in the club?_

_Tifa: Tell me! Tell me!_

_dude overdrived: Tell me! Wait..._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 11: It's Time! The Chosen Ones!**

-I-

_Sora..._

_When you walk away, please don't hear me say, please...oh baby-_

Groaning, Sora pressed the snooze button on the alarm clock, preventing the radio song from continuing. He sat up in his bed, his hair the usual mess. It was all jumbled, scrambled, a complete mess! _If Cruella de Vil saw my hair, she'd die from shock, _Sora guessed. Suddenly, Sora heard a buzzing. He turned to the nightstand next to his bed. His phone was buzzing, signaling he got a text. He opened the phone, and saw it was from **Kairi Dawson**. He quickly opened the message.

**Expect me over in an hour.**

_An hour or two? But school starts in an hour._

Sora took another look at the clock. The time read **6:20**. Sora slapped his head. _How did the time reset from __**7:00 **__to __**6:20**__!?!_

Groaning angrily, Sora climbed back into bed. He lay in the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Unfortunately, now that he was wide awake, he could not fall back asleep.

"Dammit!"

Sora quickly covered his mouth, hoping neither of his parents heard him curse. His parents greatly discourage profanity and derogatory language. The last time Sora accidentally cursed right in front of them, they gave him **soap** for dinner. But then, Sora remembered that his dad had an early presentation to give at work, and his mom always left early in the first place. Relieved, Sora got out of bed. He scrunched his forehead and tapped his foot.

_Now what am I going to do for the next hour?_

-

After Sora made his bed, fixed his hair, and got into new clothes, he plugged his PS2 into his tv in his room. He then inserted a video game into the system. After the game loaded up, he went back to where he left off on his last save point. The game was an action-RPG game, and it was also the very same video game Mr. Nomura developed. Sora had seen it all across game stores for a very long time, but never got around to buying it. He had just purchased it the previous day, and found it a lot more exciting than he thought it would be. However, it did have its difficulties. The difficulties were likely due to the fact that Sora had started the game on Proud Mode, the toughest difficulty.

Sora soon found his character being attacked by an onslaught of odd black creatures. Panicking, he frantically mashed the "SQUARE" button on the PS2 controller.

"Dodge Roll, Dodge Roll, dammit, Dodge Roll!!!"

Sora managed to finish the level, which was called a "world" in the game, in the next half hour. He continued on to the next world.

"Why the hell are you calling me a kupo? What the hell is a kupo?"

Sora took another look at the clock. It now read **7:00**. Satisfied, he turned off the game system, and headed downstairs. Kairi would be coming over soon. They would be alone. In a big empty house. No one would hear anything.

Sora shook the thought off. However, with the disappearance of Kairi from those thoughts, Rikku came. Sora again shook this thought off. With the disappearance of Rikku, Tifa came. Sora sighed, and faced the wall to his left. With great force, he slammed his head on the wall. Sputtering nonsense, he rubbed the large bump that appeared on his head a few seconds later. Happily, the only thing he was thinking of now was pain.

-

The sun was now high in the sky. Its friendly sunshine peered in through the house windows, showering Sora's face with light. Sora made himself a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal, went over to the den, and sat down on a couch. Putting a spoonful of cereal in his mouth, he turned on the tv.

_Welcome to G4! Today, we'll be talking about a video game that has been beloved by people all over the world! I'm sure you're familiar with it, cause the name of the game is Kingdom-_

"Seen it."

Sora flipped channels over and over. He eventually landed on an exercise channel. A tall, blonde woman was hosting it.

_Okay, people, we're going to use this blue exercise ball. It's very good for working your muscles and_

"Oh, yeah."

Sora happily watched the blonde woman exercising with the ball. Eventually, his cereal bowl became empty, and the doorbell rang. Sora put his bowl into the sink, and opened the door. There was Kairi, greeting him a good morning.

"Morning, Keyboy!"

"Morning, Rikai."

Sora looked down. He saw Kairi holding a tray of sorts. Some foil was covering some kind of baked good. Whatever it was, it smelled really good.

"Whatcha have there?"

Kairi skipped into the house, and Sora closed the door after her. She went over the the kitchen counter and put the tray on the counter. She looked at Sora with sparkles in her eyes.

"We gonna eat that?" Sora asked, licking his lips as he smelled the sweet aroma again.

"Yup!"

Kairi lifted the foil from the baked good. It revealed some sort of yellow cake. It was kind of small, but looked big enough for maybe two people. If it was cut more, it could possibly work out for four people.

"Oh, this looks great!"

Kairi took out two plastic forks and gave one to Sora. He happily dug the fork into the cake, thouroughly finishing about a fourth of it. Kairi also finished a fourth of the cake, smacking her lips afterwards.

Sora moaned in happiness. "Kairi, what is in this cake? It tastes so good, and it feels like my soul's been touched as well!"

Kairi nodded happily. "That's good that you feel like that. Now hurry and finish the rest of the ca-"

_Honk! Honk!_

"Oh, that's Riku!"

Sora grabbed the tray and headed out the door. Kairi hurriedly ran after him.

"Wait, aren't you going to finish that?!?"

"I will! When we get into school!"

"Why don't you just finish it now?!?"

Kairi and Sora went inside the car, Kairi continuing trying to persuade Sora to finish the cake. The ride was a long and hectic one...

-

"Here's your stupid cake!"

Riku roughly handed the cake back to Sora. Apparently, he had confiscated it during the car trip.

"What's so great about that cake that you guys keep arguing about it?"

Without replying, Sora fled into the school, heading to French class. Kairi chased after him, still trying to get him to finish the cake.

"I thought you said you would finish the cake!"

"Well, I wanna show it to Rikku and Tifa first! You're an awesome cook, Kairi!"

The two continued their banter as they went up the third floor and into 1st period. As Sora walked into the classroom, he was quickly greeted by Tifa and Rikku.

"Hi guys!" The two said simultaneously. Tifa eyed the cake. "Ooh, that looks like a good cake! Can we try some?"

"Sure!" Sora offered, holding out the tray to the two girls.

"Uh, wait-" Kairi began.

The two girls split the last of the cake into two, and munched it down. They finished the foodstuff with a smile.

"Kairi made it!" Sora said.

"Wow, Kairi, that was awesome!" Rikku complimented.

Kairi took the comment with uncertainty. "Um, thanks."

_Ring!_

-II-

_Kairi..._

Kairi woke up earlier than usual, at **5:50**. She sat up in her bed and yawned. She licked her lips, tasting the bitter bile in her mouth. Her hair was somewhat messed up, but not nearly as messed up as Kairi expected Sora's hair to be. Speaking of Sora...

Kairi thought back to Saturday, when she managed to get that paopu fruit. She had baked it into a cake that Saturday, and was planning to heat it up today in order to share it with Sora. Her feeling for the boy had grown quite immensely. However, she still had qualms about sharing her feelings with him.

_I'll do it when the time is right._

Kairi looked at her mess of a bed. She looked into her bedroom mirror and looked at her mess of hair and mess of clothes. She shook her head.

_Time to clean things up._

She turned on the radio. A familiar song came up.

_Angels in flight, 'wonk uoy naht noitceffa erom deen I', my sanctuary, my sanctuary yeah, where fears and lies, melt awaaaaay_

"OMG, I love this song."

With one of her favorite songs playing in the background, Kairi swiftly made her bed, and prepared to shower. She blew a kiss to the radio station.

"Bring me luck, Utada. I hope you play Simple and Clean soon."

-

Kairi went to her kitchen shortly after. She put the paopu fruit cake into the oven to heat it up again. She stared at the oven lovingly.

"Hurry up, little cake. Be moist enough for me and Sora."

Kairi looked at the clock. It read **6:20**. She took out her cell phone and texted two people.

To Sora: **Expect me over in an hour.**

To Riku: **I'll be over at Soras. pick us up there**

Kairi patiently waited for the cake to finish. Before long, Riku had replied back to her.

**Ooh, gonna hav fun?**

Kairi found herself in a text argument with Riku.

**No perv, ill just be over there**

**Doin stuff? Bow chic a wow wow**

**SHUT UP, you idiot! stop saying such perverted things!**

**Den y r u goin to his house**

**MYOB**

**DLTMIKYAHAGTDS**

**Wut the f is dat supposed to mean?**

Ten minutes later...

**Dont Lie To Me I Know You And Him Are Going To Do Stuff**

**Im gonna kill u l8tr**

_Ding!_

The cake was finished. Kairi put on some oven gloves and took the small tray out. The fluffy yellow goodness lay on the tray. Afterwards, she put some foil over the cake. It was time to go over to Sora's.

-

Kairi waited patiently outside Sora's house. She fixed her hair and carefully held the cake tray in her hand. She was planning to share it with him at that moment; and she was planning for every single bit of cake to be finished, so that no one else would acidentally eat it... Kairi was apparently a strong believer of the paopu fruit's legend.

Soon, Sora answered the door. They smiled at each other.

"Morning, Keyboy!"

"Morning, Rikai."

Sora looked down at the tray Kairi was holding. He appeared to be taken over by the good smell of the cake.

"Whatcha have there?"

Kairi skipped into the house, humming happily. She looked around the house. She saw a used bowl in the kitchen sink. Kairi then skipped over to the kitchen counter and placed the cake tray on it. She looked at Sora with sparkling eyes.

"We gonna eat that?" Sora asked, licking his lips.

"Yup!" Kairi replied excitedly.

Kairi took the foil off of the cake. It still looked fluffy and delicious. Sora seemed to think so, too.

"Oh, this looks great!"

Kairi took out the two plastic forks she had brought with her. She handed one of them to Sora, who immediately began taking bites into the cake. Kairi watched him carefully as she took her own bites.

_That's right, boy, eat the cake..._

After finishing about a fourth of the cake, Sora happily moaned. "Kairi, what is in this cake? It tastes so good, and it feels like my soul's been touched as well!"

Kairi felt good upon hearing that comment. "That's good that you feel like that. Now hurry and finish the rest of the ca-"

_Honk! Honk!_

"Oh, that's Riku!"

Sora grabbed the tray and headed out the door. Panicking, Kairi hurriedly ran after him.

"Wait, aren't you going to finish that?!?"

"I will! When we get into school!"

"Why don't you just finish it now?!?"

-

"Here's your stupid cake!"

Kairi got out of the car. She saw Riku handing Sora back the cake.

"What's so great about that cake that you guys keep arguing about it?"

Without replying, Sora fled into the school. Her panic remaining in her system, Kairi chased after him.

"I thought you said you would finish the cake!"

"Well, I wanna show it to Rikku and Tifa first! You're an awesome cook, Kairi!"

Kairi continued trying to get Sora to finish the last of the cake, before it got into someone else's hands. Unfortunately, Sora was adamant on showing it to Tifa and Rikku. As Sora walked into French class, Kairi saw Tifa and Rikku greeting him.

"Hi guys!" The two girls said simultaneously. Tifa eyed the cake. "Ooh, that looks like a good cake! Can we try some?"

"Sure!" Sora offered, holding out the tray to the two girls.

Kairi began feeling more and more uneasy. "Uh, wait-"

Kairi watched in horror as the two girls finished the last of the food. The feeling was bittersweet, as everyone who had the cake thought it was good, yet Kairi was only planning for Sora to eat it.

"Kairi made it!" Sora said.

"Wow, Kairi, that was awesome!" Rikku complimented.

Kairi was still uncertain. The thoughts inside her were cloudy. "Um, thanks."

_What now? Sora and I shared the cake. But then, Sora also shared the cake with Rikku. He also shared the cake with Tifa! Just how jumbled is destiny going to get?_

_Ring!_

-III-

_Riku..._

It was **6:00**. As usual, Riku was already up. No, it was not so that he could go to school earlier. It was to do other weird stuff...

At the sound of the alarm, Riku opened his eyes and yawned. He turned off the alarm on his clock, and got out of bed. It was a little bit hot, so Riku only wore a white tank top and house shorts when he went to bed. Now that it was six, it was time for his daily routine to commence.

-

Riku reached under his bead. Amidst the old sandwiches, the underwear, and the old school papers from seventh grade were a pair of dumbbells. He took them out and set them on the bed. He then turned on his tv and went to the exercise channel. There, the blonde woman with the blue exercise ball was preparing for a two hour long workout.

_Now, I'm going to stretch my back muscles on the ball and-_

"Oh, yeah."

Riku put the two dumbbells in his two hands, and lifted them one at a time. His eyes were glued to the television set, watching the body parts of the exercise woman move.

"Come on, keep it comin."

Riku let out consecutive breaths as his "workout" continued. He did this for the next ten minutes.

"Son, I sometimes worry about you," Mr. O'Reilly called out from outside Riku's bedroom.

"Come on, pops, I'm not hurting anyone!"

"You're hurting me, son. You're hurting my _machismo_."

-

After the workout, Riku went onto his computer. He went onto his Facebook, and saw that he had one unread message. He opened the message.

_Dear Mr. O'Reilly, this is Hercules of the Olympians. I am flattered that you like my team so much. However, I would like to request that you stop plaguing our Facebook with hundreds of messages a week and hundreds of replies to our status. It is bothering, and we can not reply to any of our other fans/friends. Thank you very much._

Riku felt his heart racing. He was apparently very excited about this message.

"Oh my freakin god! _The_ Hercules sent me a message! I gotta comment on this!"

Over the next fifty minutes or so, Riku sent the Olympians about twenty messages, and posted one hundred comments on the Olympians' Facebook page. He just did not seem to be able to comprehend Hercules' message.

-

Riku was now on the road, going over to Sora's house, where both Sora and Kairi were waiting. About an hour ago, he had a text conversation with Kairi, pondering the suggestiveness of Kairi being at Sora's house. He loved to poke fun at the two. Sure, it would be cool if Riku himself managed to snag Kairi, but he understood that she'd rather be with Sora. Then again, her day with Cloud was a little suspicious...

Soon, Riku pulled up to the curb by Sora's house. He honked his horn twice.

_Honk! Honk!_

Before long, Sora ran out of the house, with Kairi chasing him. Riku saw that Sora appeared to be holding a tray with some kind of yellow cake.

"Wait, aren't you going to finish that?!?" Kairi yelled.

"I will! When we get into school!" Sora replied.

"Why don't you just finish it now?!?"

The two entered the car, and Riku set off immediately. As he was driving, he looked back at his two bickering friends.

"Hey, can I try some cake?" Riku asked as he reached for the cake Sora was holding.

"No!" Kairi yelled swatting Riku's hand away. "That cake's not for you!"

"Then why did you obviously let Sora eat some?" Riku asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"None ya business!" Sora mockingly said, advertently waving the cake tray in the air so that Riku could smell the aroma. It worked, as Riku licked his lips.

"Enough Sora!" Kairi cried out. "Now finish that cake!"

"Aw, why can't you let me do what I want?" Sora whined.

"It'll be spoiled! Now eat!" Kairi ordered, shoving the tray up into Sora's face.

"Stop that! You're making me lose my appetite!"

Soon, Riku pulled up to a red light. He saw this as an opportunity to stop this nonsense.

"Alright, give it here!"

With a struggle, Riku managed to wrestle the cake away from Sora. He placed the tray on the passenger seat.

"You can have that back _after_ we get to school!"

"Riku, give me that cake back right now!" Sora bellowed, hitting Riku repeatedly on the head.

"Yeah, give it back!" Kairi said, punching Riku's arm.

Riku managed to juggle wrestling with his friends and driving at the same time. That car drive was very long and painful.

-

"Here's your stupid cake!"

Riku had finally arrived at the school. As the three got out of the car, Riku begrudgingly handed the cake back to Sora, who took it happily.

"What's so great about that cake that you guys keep arguing about it?"

Without answering, Sora fled into the school, with Kairi hot on his tail. Riku sighed and shook his head.

"Idiots."

Riku locked up his car, and walked into school. As he walked to his Spanish class, he ran into his fellow classmate and friend in the hallway. Cloud Strife.

"Sup, Strife."

Riku patted Cloud on the back. Cloud chuckled.

"Sup, O'Reilly."

"Man, I'm telling you, Sora and Kairi are crazy."

Cloud appeared to perk up upon hearing Kairi's name. This caught Riku's attention.

"Kairi? What's up with them?"

Riku eyed Cloud carefully. "Well...now that they're dating, they've been getting really crazy,"

"WHAT?!? They're dating?" Cloud yelled, despair present in his voice.

Riku grinned and pointed at Cloud's face. "Aha! You got upset upon hearing my lie!"

"Um...you were lying?" Cloud asked, appearing relieved yet embarrased,

"Uhuh. Now, just tell me...why would you get so upset over that?"

"Well...cuz the two, you know, they don't really seem to fit."

"You're lying, Strife," Riku laughed, using his hand to mess with Cloud's hair. "I actually thought you liked Aerith, and your little outing on Saturday was just a little friendy-friendy thing. But my eyes have been opened! You like Kairi!"

"Hey, I do not!" Cloud retorted, getting defensive.

Riku chuckled. "Can't lie to me!"

"There's nothing to even lie about in the first place! And besides-"

_Ring!_

Riku heard the bell ring, and began running to his class. He looked back at Cloud and laughed loudly. "You like her! You like her!"

Cloud growled and chased after him. "Riku, you dumbass!"

-IV-

_Rikku..._

"Oh yeah, yeah, _you're giving meeee, _uh huh, _too many things..._"

Rikku was her usual cheerful, jumpy and excited self that morning. She awoke at **7:00**, her usual time. Rikku always enjoyed spicing her life up. So, as she made her bed and readied her things, she listened to music from her iPod and danced around. Of course, not everyone enjoyed this lively morning...

"Rikku, if you're gonna do that, stop singing so loud!"

There was a tapping from the other side of Rikku's bedroom wall. The tap came from Axel's bedroom, where Axel was sleeping. He would have to go back to school this coming Wednesday.

"Come on, Lea, don't be a Monday grumpy!" Rikku yelled back in a baby-like voice.

"AXEL!!! Got it frickin' memorized?!?" Axel shrieked.

Rikku finished making her bed and setting her clothing. She went up to the wall where Axel's voice was coming from and knocked loudly on it.

"Axie, drive me to school!"

"Take the bus!" Axel said, exasperated.

"Mom says you have to!"

Axel groaned rather loudly, as Rikku could hear him through the wall. "Then hurry up and shower and get dressed!"

-

Rikku was all dressed up and in the kitchen, ready for breakfast. She hummed happily to herself as she made some toast.

Rikku heard footsteps entering the kitchen. She turned around to see Axel walking towards her, his hair in a tangled mess, bags below the makeup under his eyes, and old clothes that smelled like they weren't washed for weeks.

Rikku sniffed and plugged her nose. "PU, Axel! You stink bad!"

Axel scratched his head and grunted. He sat down at the dining table next to the kitchen.

"Hurry and give me some toast."

Rikku smiled evilly and took one of the hot toast slices. She then threw it at Axel's face. That appeared to wake him up, as he fell down to the ground with bread crumbs all over his face.

"You're welcome," Rikku said, biting into her own butter-covered toast.

Axel sat up and glared at Rikku. She smiled at him with bright eyes.

-

Axel and Rikku were now on the road to Destiny Academy. They had left the Grayson household around **7:30**. Rikku was happy and bopping her head to the beat of the music on the radio. Axel was still picking bread crumbs out of his hair.

Rikku bopped her head to the music, which she liked. Actually, she pretty much liked any type of music. Pop, rock, rap, death metal, you name it, cause she'll like it!

Suddenly, Axel turned off the radio. Rikku gave him a dirty look.

"What was that for?"

Axel sighed. "Rikku, we need to have a talk."

"Okay fine, I'm sorry I filled your underwear with itching powder that one time!"

"Wait, that was you?!?"

"Um, never mind! Go on!" Rikku blurted out, changing the subject.

"Okay, Rikku, this time, I _really_ need you to get this memorized."

Rikku nodded.

Axel took a deep breath. "All right, then. When a boy likes a girl, or vice versa, the two of them may try to-"

"Ew, stop stop stop! S-T-O-P stop!" Rikku shrieked. "I've already had this speech with mom, and I didn't exactly like it the first time!"

"But do you really get it?"

Rikku scoffed. "More than you know."

"Do you like anyone at school?"

Rikku raised her eyebrow. "Hmm?"

"Do you like anyone?"

"I do. It's Sora."

"That spiky hair guy?"

Rikku grinned and giggled. "Yeah, he's the one."

"Okay then, that's my point. If he likes you, he may try to-"

"Look, I know what you're talking about, but I'm not convinced it's going to happen! I don't even know if he even likes me!"

Axel rolled his eyes. The two of them were almost at the street where Destiny Academy awaited. "If I ever see him with you, I'll kick his ass."

"What are you, my father?"

-

Rikku was now nearing her French classroom. As she walked in, she caught sight of Tifa. Tifa waved at her.

"Hey, Rikku!"

"Hey, Tifa!"

The two girls ran to each other and hugged. Tifa then looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was nearby. She brought her face close to Rikku's.

"I have the juciest gossip ever about Cloud."

Rikku's eyes widened. "Seriously? Cloud?"

"Uhuh!" Tifa brought her face closer to Rikku's ear. She whispered, "Cloud likes Kairi."

Rikku squealed and jumped. "OMG, that is so sweet and so surprising! I thought he liked Aerith!"

"Hey, me too! But hey, you didn't hear it from me," Tifa said, her eyes wide and her head nodding.

Rikku gave her a thumbs up. "Gotcha."

Rikku turned to the classroom entrance. She saw Sora and Kairi coming in. Sora was holding a tray with a yellowish cake. Rikku and Tifa went up to the two.

"Hi guys!" The girls said simultaneously. Rikku saw Tifa looking at the cake. "Ooh, that looks like a good cake! Can we try some?"

"Sure!" Sora offered, holding out the tray to the two girls.

Rikku and Tifa reached for the cake. Kairi seemed a bit uneasy. "Uh, wait-"

Rikku and Tifa bit into their pieces of the cake. Rikku relished the deliciousness tingling her taste buds. She wished she could bake like this.

"Kairi made it!" Sora revealed.

Rikku was not surprised. Kairi always did have a lot of talent. "Wow, Kairi, that was awesome!"

Kairi seemed uncertain. "Uh, thanks."

Rikku eyed the empty tray. _That was really good! What was in it, fruit?_

_Ring!_

-V-

_Tifa..._

Tifa sat on her bed, swinging her legs. She had already woken up, showered, and fixed her bed. After she finished, she sat on her bed, and did nothing. The reason? She had finished up earlier than usual.

_What to do, what to do. Too early to eat breakfast. What to do, what to do._

Tifa looked around the room. It was a purple bedroom with a blue bed, a bedroom mirror, and posters and pictures all over the walls. She looked at each of the items on the wall, admiring the posters and pictured memories. Her eyes came to a picture of her and Sora. It was the picture of them taken at Magic Kingdom, when they were still trying to find an idea to do for their science project. Their arms were locked, and Tifa's head was on Sora's shoulder. Sora looked happy as well.

Tifa sighed and put her finger on Sora's picture. Being with him always cheered her up.

"Oh, Sora, when will you be mine?"

Tifa shifted her eyes to another picture. This other picture was neither romantic nor funny. It was just plain weird. It was a picture of Tifa's bra. Her mother had taken a picture of it cause it was apparently so very fascinating for a girl as young as Tifa to have a bust that large.

_Come on, they're not that big! I'm only a DDD cup._

Suddenly, someone knocked on Tifa's bedroom door.

"Tifa, go to school now!" Mrs. Lockhart called out.

"Huh?" Tifa looked at the clock. It was now **7:00**.

"Whoa, it's already seven?!?"

-

Tifa happily walked on her usual route to school. As she walked along the street, she walked by some other students. Middle school students, fellow freshmen and sophomores at the Academy, they all reacted the same. They all ogled Tifa as she walked by them.

Tifa groaned. She stopped in her tracks and looked back at the ogling guys. She cracked her knuckles and her neck.

"You want me? You got me."

-

Tifa walked away from the scene, humming happily. Behind her were a pile of male students, all of them bruised, hurt, and groaning. This just goes to show how much Tifa dislikes pervertedness.

Tifa soon found herself in front of Cloud's house. Every time, she had pretty much ignored the house, as Cloud usually left earlier than her. But she saw Cloud's head through the window. This would be a good opportunity to have some bonding time with him, now that he was all friendly and whatnot.

Tifa walked up to the house door and pressed the doorbell. After about a few moments, Cloud answered.

"Tifa? What're you doing here?"

"Well, I just so happened to walk by your house, and saw that you were still home! You're normally out by now."

"Woke up late. Pissed," Cloud answered simply.

"Then come walk with me!"

Cloud looked back at his house. He then looked back at Tifa, who waited patiently for his answer. He shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

Cloud closed the door, and walked side-by-side with Tifa. Tifa was glad with the situation, as it had been a long time since she had ever really hung out with Cloud.

"So, Cloud, do anything interesting over the weekend?"

"Huh?" Cloud scratched his head, thinking. It then seemed like he remembered something, but he did not say what it was. "Oh, nothing."

Tifa playfully punched Cloud on the arm. Cloud gripped his arm in pain.

"Oh, come on, Cloud, I can tell you remembered something. Tell me!"

Cloud sighed. "Well...me and Kairi went to that one island, Island Small."

"Island Small? Why?"

Cloud looked up into the sky and scratched his head. Tifa saw his face turn red. "Well, she wanted to go get a paopu fruit."

Tifa's eyes widened. She laughed and grinned at Cloud. Cloud immediately shook his head and mouthed 'no'.

"No, we weren't going to share it, she was just getting it for a friend!"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, _sure_ Cloud."

"It's true! Sh-shut up, I don't think about her like that!" Cloud sputtered, saying something he probably shouldn't have.

Tifa giggled happily. "Oh my gosh! You like Kairi!"

"N-no I don't! Be quiet!" Cloud yelled, running ahead.

Tifa laughed gleefully and chased after him. "You do you do you do!"

-

Tifa was sitting in her desk in French class. She was still giggling over the knowledge she discovered from Cloud. It made her all jumpy and 'gossipy', not unlike Rikku.

Then, Rikku entered the French classroom. Tifa waved at her.

"Hey, Rikku!"

"Hey, Tifa!"

Tifa ran over to Rikku, and the two girls hugged. Tifa then looked around to make sure no one was listening. She was planning to tell Rikku the latest gossip.

"I have the juciest gossip ever about Cloud.

Rikku's eyes widened. "Seriously? Cloud?"

"Uhuh!" Tifa could not contain herself any longer. She whispered into Rikku's ear, "Cloud likes Kairi."

Rikku squealed and jumped. "OMG, that is so sweet and so surprising! I thought he liked Aerith!"

"Hey, me too! But hey, you didn't hear it from me," Tifa said, her eyes wide and her head nodding.

Rikku gave her a thumbs up. "Gotcha."

Tifa turned to look at the classroom entrance. Sora and Kairi came into the classroom. Sora was holding a tray with a portion of a cake. Tifa and Rikku went up to the two.

"Hi guys!" The girls said simultaneously. Tifa eyed the cake. It looked really good. "Ooh, that looks like a good cake! Can we try some?"

"Sure!" Sora offered, holding out the tray to the two girls.

"Uh, wait-" Kairi began, but it was too late. The two girls bit into the cake. Tifa loved the taste, and and slowly relished her bites.

"Kairi made it!" Sora revealed.

Tifa was surprised upon learning this. Rikku, however, wasn't.

"Wow, Kairi, that was awesome!" Rikku complimented.

Kairi seemed unseasy. "Uh, thanks."

_What's up with her? What was in that cake anyway?_

_Ring!_

-VI-

_Cloud..._

_Snore..._

Cloud lay soundly in bed. He was in his room, which was the typical teenage boy's room. Clothing scattered across the ground, items everywhere, the basic mess. Since he was young, Cloud had liked collecting action figures. He had shelves carrying action figures like Spider-Man, Superman, Mario, and more. Next to his bed was a papier-mache sword named the Buster Sword. Zack had made it, but then gave it to Cloud.

Cloud was still sleeping, his hair messed up, like everyone else's bed hair. The time on his clock read **7:15**. That was funny; Cloud usually woke up around **6:40**.

_Buzz!_

Cloud groaned as the alarm buzzed. He sat up in bed, yawned, and scratched his head. He then turned to his clock to look at the time. After reading the time, he sighed.

"Why? Why did you wake me up this late? It takes me forty minutes to do my daily morning stuff, and fifteen minutes to walk to school. Why did you do this, you M*THERF*CKING CLOCK?!?!?!?"

Cloud yelled in anger, and quickly got out of bed. He rushed as he fixed up his bed. After it was finished, it still looked messy. He continued cursing under his breath as he took a quick five minute shower and got dressed. It did not seem like today was his day.

-

With all that, Cloud still had to eat breakfast, and it was now **7:25**. His hair was still messed up, and his person looked like a complete mess overall. But, at least he still had time.

Cloud got a piece of bread and splattered some jam on it. He bit into the bread, trying to relish it.

_Hmm, tastes like fruit._

_Fruit._

_Kairi._

Cloud's chewing slowed down. He was surprised and confused as to how he got from jam to Kairi. It seemed completely out of the ordinary.

It had been like this since that little venture on Saturday. He still thought about when he accidentally landed on top of Kairi. It was through that completely accidental situation that something clicked inside of Cloud. Cloud himself was not too sure about it.

Cloud groaned and munched down the rest of his bread. _Why am I worrying myself with these trivial matters?_

_Ding-Dong!_

Cloud heard the doorbell ring. He went over to the front door, and opened it. He saw Tifa waiting outside.

"Tifa? What're you doing here?"

"Well, I just so happened to walk by your house, and saw that you were still home! You're normally out by now."

"Woke up late. Pissed," Cloud answered simply.

"Then come walk with me!"

Cloud looked back at his house. He then looked back at Tifa, who waited patiently for his answer. He shrugged.

"Sure, why not?"

Cloud closed the door, and walked side-by-side with Tifa. It had been a while since it was just the two of them.

"So, Cloud, do anything interesting over the weekend?"

"Huh?" Cloud scratched his head, thinking. He remembered the venture on Island Small again, but did not feel like talking about it. "Oh, nothing."

Tifa playfully punched Cloud on the arm. Despite being playful, it apparently actually hurt Cloud. He gripped his arm.

"Oh, come on, Cloud, I can tell you remembered something. Tell me!"

Cloud sighed. "Well...me and Kairi went to that one island, Island Small."

"Island Small? Why?"

Cloud looked up into the sky and scratched his head. He felt his face turn red. "Well, she wanted to go get a paopu fruit."

Tifa's eyes widened. She laughed and grinned at Cloud. Cloud immediately shook his head and mouthed 'no'.

"No, we weren't going to share it, she was just getting it for a friend!"

Tifa nodded. "Yeah, _sure_ Cloud."

"It's true! Sh-shut up, I don't think about her like that!" Cloud sputtered. He then caught what he just said.

_Why, Cloud? Why would you say something that she'll interpret as untrue?_

Tifa giggled happily. "Oh my gosh! You like Kairi!"

"N-no I don't! Be quiet!" Cloud yelled, running ahead. He was not happy than he had just revealed his feelings about Kairi to Tifa.

Tifa laughed gleefully and chased after him. "You do you do you do!"

-

Grumbling, Cloud roamed the hallways of the school. Tifa had run off the moment they arrived at school. Hopefully, she wouldn't spread the news around.

Soon, Cloud came upon his friend and classmate. Riku O'Reilly.

"Sup, Strife."

"Sup, O'Reilly."

"Man, I'm telling you, Sora and Kairi are crazy.

Cloud's anger with Tifa dissolved upon hearing Kairi's name. "Kairi? What's up with them?"

Riku seemed to eye Cloud carefully. "Well...now that they're dating they've been getting really crazy."

This news appeared to strike Cloud like a lightning bolt would strike a tree. "WHAT?!? They're dating?"

Riku grinned and pointed at Cloud's face. This caught Cloud off guard.

"Aha! You got upset upon hearing my lie!"

Cloud now felt embarassed. "Um...you were lying?"

"Uhuh. Now, just tell me...why would you get so upset over that?"

"Well...cuz the two, you know, they don't really seem to fit."

"You're lying, Strife," Riku laughed, using his hand to mess with Cloud's hair. "I actually thought you liked Aerith, and your little outing on Saturday was just a little friendy-friendy thing. But my eyes have been opened! You like Kairi!"

_Crap!_

"Hey, I do not!" Cloud retorted, trying not to let his guard down again."

Riku chuckled. "Can't lie to me!"

Cloud felt himself getting angry again. "There's nothing to even lie about in the first place! And besides-"

_Ring!_

The 1st Period bell rang. Riku began running to his class. As he ran, he looked back at Cloud and laughed. "You like her! You like her!"

Cloud growled and chased after him. "Riku, you dumbass!"

_Man! Today is not my day!_

-VII-

_1st Period: Sora, Tifa, Rikku, Kairi - French 1_

_1st Period: Riku, Cloud - Spanish 1_

It was Monday, the first day of the third week of school. Sora, Kairi, Rikku, and Tifa were currently in their French 1 classroom. Riku and Cloud were currently in their Spanish 1 classroom. That period was going to get a little rowdy that morning...

-

"_Bienvenidos, _class, today, we shall be doing-" Mr. Russo began.

_"Students, please temporarily stop your classes for this announcement," _the loudspeaker announced.

All the students in all the classes stopped what they were doing to listen to the announcement.

_"Here is Mr. Nomura giving the major announcement."_

_"Thank you. Now today, we shall be hearing what we have all been waiting for: the announcement of who managed to get into the World Cultures Club."  
_

-

"Oh my gosh, I totally forgot!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Oh, I really hope I was picked!" Tifa said.

Sora laughed and turned to Kairi. "Hey, wish us luck, Kai!"

A small smile appeared on Kairi's face. "All right."

-

"Please let me get in, please let me get in," Riku pleaded, appearing as if he was praying to the god of luck.

Cloud grunted and slumped in his seat. "Don't really care."

Riku looked at Cloud. "Wait, since when did you sign up?"

-

_"As a reminder, the members are all freshmen. So sophomores, juniors and seniors, I am terribly sorry. Okay then, the very first member is..._

_Cloud Strife."_

-

"No way! Cloud got in!" Tifa yelled, excited.

Sora scratched his head. "When did he even sign up?"

-

_"The second member is..._

_Rikku Grayson."_

-

"All right! Wait, did he say Grayson?" Riku asked.

-

"Yes, yes, YES!!!" Rikku had jumped up from her desk and was hopping up and down. Hey, that's Rikku for you.

-

_"The third member is..._

_Riku O'Reilly."_

-

"Heeeeeeell, yeah!" Riku whooped.

"Language, Riku!" Mr. Russo roughly said.

"Heeeeeeell, _sí!_"

-

_"The fourth member is..._

_Kairi Dawson."_

-

"Yes, yes, YES!!!" Rikku was cheering for Kairi.

Kairi laughed at Rikku. "I think _I'm_ supposed to be the one cheering!"

-

_"The fifth member is..._

_Tifa Lockhart."_

-

"Oh geez, that was close!" Tifa said, relieved. "I almost thought I didn't make it."

Sora made a whining sound. "Oh, man, what if I don't make it?"

-

_"And finally, the final member is..._

_Sora Keiman."_

-

"Yeah, yeah, heck yes!" Sora burst out, slamming his desk. "Yes, I'm in the frickin club!"

-

"Hey, Riku. Don't you think it's an incredible coincidence that the six of us, all friends, managed to _all _get in the club?" Cloud questioned.

Riku shrugged. "Well, this kind of thing always happens in anime, manga and fanfics."

"What?"

Riku shook his head. "Oh, never mind."

----------End----------

Cloud Strife: A fifteen year old boy who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. He attends Destiny Academy with Sora Keiman, Riku O'Reilly, Kairi Dawson, Tifa Lockhart, and Rikku Grayson. He possibly lives in Destino City, not too far from Tifa. When first introduced, Cloud is a lonely, somewhat xenophobic and rude person. It is revealed that this character is due to him blaming himself for the death of his best friend, Zack Fair. Since Zack's death, the only people Cloud allowed himself to be close to are another long time friend, Aerith Gainsborough, and Tifa. However, recently, Aerith had managed to enable Cloud to move on. Since then, Cloud has been able to open up more and started trying to be more friendly. Although many people think that Cloud is attracted to Aerith, his true infatuation lies with Kairi Dawson. This was due to a little adventure that he and Kairi went on, when something 'clicked' inside Cloud. However, it is clear that Kairi does not reciprocate these feelings, as she is obviously and obsessively in love with Sora. So far, the only people who know of Cloud's infatuation with Kairi is Riku, Rikku, and Tifa. Cloud also enjoys collecting action figures, and also has a papier-mache sword called the Buster Sword, which was given to him by Zack. Riku and Sora may possibly be his new best guy friends.

**-Wow, this was one strange chapter, huh? This will not be the first time I do a chapter like this. Anyway, I would like to ask people to not complain about the extremely low probability that the six of them managed to get into the club. It is a plot device to move the story along. Thanks for reading. **_**dude overdrived, **_**out-**


	13. The First Meeting and Final Confession

_Tifa: Ooh! Cloud likes-_

_Cloud: Shut up, Tifa!_

_dude overdrived: Aw, he's sensitive!_

_Kairi: Wha?_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 12: The First Meeting and Final Confession**

_**The Final Confession:**_

_Friday morning..._

Kairi lay in her bed. The time was 6:00. She knew that it would be a good idea to go back to sleep for at least another hour, but she couldn't. She was still wondering about the whole cake thing that happened on Monday.

Kairi stuffed her face in her pillow and bit the edge. Even though it has already been maybe four days or so, she was still upset about it. The whole memory of what happened gnawed at her insides, attempting to get into her heart. She tried to make sense of it.

_Okay...so Sora shared the paopu cake with me. That's good. But then, he kept some of it and brought it with him to school. He then gave some of the cake to Tifa and Rikku! Does that mean the paopu's legend will bind him to all three of us girls?_

_No, but that's insane! Technically, Tifa and Rikku also shared the fruit together! What, are their destinies going to be intertwined as well? Tch, that's just stupid!_

Kairi brought herself to ease thinking about that jumbled legend. However, that feeling of easiness quickly disintegrated with another thought.

_But even so...he still technically shared it with all of us. If the paopu fruit's legend is for real, then he might end up appearing in all of our lives. But then again, am I being too superstitious? I mean, it's just a dinky little fruit after all! What could it possibly do?_

Kairi tried laughing the entire thing off. But no matter what she did, _his_ smiling face continued plaguing her mind.

_I'll get Sora. He'll be mine. I'll get him if it kills me._

-I-

As normal, Riku was driving Sora and Kairi to school. Today was a particularly special day. Today would be the first meeting of the World Cultures Club, which he, Sora, Kairi, Tifa, Rikku and Cloud had managed to get into. Normally, the club would meet every _Thursday_ and Friday, but Mr. Nomura had received a lot more students than last year, so it was just changed to a meeting every Friday.

"Just think about it! In March, I'll be able to get my learner's permit!" Sora happily announced.

Riku laughed. "Yeah, but you won't be able to get your license 'til next year!"

"So? At least I'll be in the driver's seat for once!"

"Sora, if you're going to drive us, I'll alert our parents to arrange our funerals earlier," Kairi said jokingly.

Sora rolled his eyes, thrust out his lips and make odd sounds that were mocking Kairi.

Riku pulled up to a red light. He looked back at his friends. "Remember the last time we stopped at this stoplight?"

Sora snickered. "I remember! It was on Monday, when Kairi made that cake and you took it away. Then we ended up hurting you as you drove to school." Sora looked over at Kairi sitting next to him. "By the way, you never told me what was in that cake."

A small smile appeared on Kairi's face. "Fruit."

Sora was skeptical. "Just fruit? Okay, fine then, Kai, what kind of fruit?"

Kairi scrunched her forehead as she thought. "Um..."

Sora scoffed. "Don't tell me you forgot about the ingredients of a cake you made only a few days ago!"

Kairi shrugged. "Sorry, I guess I did."

Riku laughed as the red light turned green and the drive continued. "Guess you're not as smart as we all thought you were."

Kairi clenched her hands into fists, but resisted the burning urge to hit Riku. She begrudgingly said, "Yes...I guess...you're right."

Sora was bewildered. "Are you for real? You're saying _Riku_ of all people is right?!?"

"...Yes," Kairi said through clenched teeth.

Riku chuckled. "Guess you finally see the Landman's genius."

"Landman?" Sora repeated, giving Riku an odd look.

"Yeah. And you're Skyman and Kairi's Seagirl."

"Sora's an _Airhead,_" Kairi said, laughing.

Sora playfully pinched Kairi, and Kairi tickled him back. The drive to Destiny Academy was not _nearly_ as chaotic as the previous Monday. Rather it was quite a normal, usual one. Three friends side by side, spending as much time together as possible.

-II-

_Before 1st Period..._

Cloud stood at the entrance of Destiny Academy. He lay his back on the wall, looking at the passing cars. He was waiting patiently for the car of one of his friends to pull over.

Suddenly, without a warning, "Boo!"

Cloud did not so much as flinch. He turned to the source of the 'scary' greeting. It came from Rikku, greeting him a happy morning.

"How ya doin', Cloud?"

"Fine."

Rikku studied Cloud. "I heard some interesting news on Monday."

"If they were so interesting, why didn't you talk to me about them any of the other previous days?"

"Well, I was too busy being excited about being picked for the World Cultures Club. OMG, we're in the World Cultures Club!" Rikku gleefully squealed as she hopped up and down. Yes, she was the same old 'hoppy' Rikku.

"So what are these 'interesting' news you apparently want to tell me about?"

Rikku bit her lower lip and smiled at Cloud. "I know...who you like."

Suddenly, Cloud no longer felt so calm and cool. He looked at Rikku with sharp eyes. "Who?"

Rikku grinned. "Kaikai."

Cloud stared angrily at Rikku. Rikku did not back down. Finally, Cloud stopped the charade and sighed. "Fine, I'll admit it. Kairi...is the source of my admiration."

"You make it sound so professional and uncool!" Rikku whined.

"Look, I'm assuming you heard this from either Riku or Tifa. Well, they still have not received positive verbal statement from _me_ that I like her. So do not tell them, or I will deny it with every last fiber of my being."

Rikku held her hand in the air, as if she was taking an oath. "I swear on my still-alive brother's grave that I will _not_ tell Tifa, Riku or anyone else about this conversation!" However, Rikku secretly crossed her fingers behind her back.

As Cloud anticipated, Riku's car eventually pulled over. Kairi and Sora soon came out. Riku left to go park his car.

Kairi hopped on over to Cloud and Rikku. "How're you doin' Rikku?"

Rikku grinned. "I'm A-Ok!"

Kairi smiled warmly at Cloud. "How're you Cloud?"

A small smile emerged from Cloud's cool, serious face. "Fine," he answered simply, the same answer he gave to Rikku.

Sora came between Kairi and Rikku and put his arms around them. "So you guys ready for the first meeting of the Travel Club?"

"It's the _World Cultures_ Club, dummy," Rikku said.

Sora looked over Rikku's head. "Hey, where's Tifa?"

"In the library. She's finishing up some homework she forgot to do."

"I haven't really talked to her in a while. I'm gonna go see what's up."

With that, Sora left the two girls and the 'serious' guy. Rikku and Kairi stared after him as he left. They both groaned.

-

Tifa was sitting at a table in the library. She looked down at her Conceptual Physics worksheet. She had forgotten to complete the last few problems. She looked down at the next question and bit the end of her pencil.

_A vector has both a size and...a magnitude? No, the size is the magnitude. A size and a..._

"Hey, Tifa!"

Tifa looked up. She saw Sora coming up and sitting next to her. She immediately forgot about her homework.

"Hi, Sora!"

Sora took a quick look at her worksheet. "The answer is 'size and direction'."

"Oh, that's right!" Tifa quickly copied the answer onto her worksheet. "Okay, all done!" She quickly put her stuff back in her backpack and focused all of her attention on Sora. She smiled. "Good to see you this morning. Normally, _I'm_ the one who goes to see _you_."

"Well, I don't feel that we've really interacted that much the past few days, so I decided, why not?"

Tifa giggled and put her hand on Sora's hand. "That is so true."

Sora turned red. Tifa liked seeing Sora react like this. It helped her to think that Sora had feelings for her.

"Um, then again, we _have_ hung out plenty. I think. Maybe I'll just go," Sora began as he started to stand up.

"No, stay!" Tifa quickly reacted and brought Sora back down to his seat.

"Gah, o-okay"

Tifa then remembered the juicy news she found out about Cloud the previous Monday. She had forgotten to tell Sora about it.

"Sora, I never told you about who Cloud likes!"

Sora seemed uninterested. "I already know he likes Aerith."

"No, it's someone else!"

Sora perked up. "Really? Who?"

Tifa brought her mouth to Sora's ear. _"He likes Kairi."_

Sora's face upon hearing the news was hard to describe. It was a mixture of shock, surprise, confusion, and a touch of jealousy.

"He...likes Kairi?"

"Yep." Tifa leaned back in her chair. "But if you ask me, I don't think Kairi feels the same way."

A look of relief appeared on Sora's face. "You don't?"

"Nope! It's pretty obvious that she likes _you_, Sora!"

Sora was not sure what to make of this. "How is _that_ obvious?"

"Oh, come on Sora! Why else would she make you a cake with paopu fruit as the main ingredient?"

Sora was dumbstruck. "It was paopu fruit?!?"

"Yeah, the same paopu fruit she got at Island Small last week."

"B-but she told me that was for Selphie!"

Tifa shook her head. "Nope. After you told me _that_ a few days back, I asked Selphie about it. She never asked Kairi to get her the fruit."

Sora was still now sure. "How do you know it was paopu fruit?"

"After you gave me some of the cake, I grew interested in that fruity flavor I tasted. I gathered up several fruits I have never tasted, like lychee, jackfruit and guava. But they didn't have any connection to that cake. Then, I remember my mom saved a slice of paopu fruit in the fridge in case she and my dad needed to spice up their love life."

Sora gave her a look, which is quite simply described as a 'WTF Look'.

Tifa shrugged. "Don't ask me, cuz I don't know. Anyway, I decided to get a _tiny_ bit of that fruit. The second I sunk my teeth into it, I had a flashback to that cake. It was paopu fruit, Sora. I'd bet a million bucks on it."

Sora slowly let this soak in. He did not know why all this was happening to him. Only three weeks had barely passes by, and his social life was all jumbled up. First, he finds out this crazy hot girl Tifa likes him. Then he finds out that Rikku likes him as well. And now his childhood best friend is practically _obsessed_ with him?!? Just how chaotic would high school be?

-III-

_1st Period: Riku - Spanish 1_

Riku's Spanish 1 class was in session. Mr. Russo announced that everyone in class would now be getting into groups of two to perform a short oral presentation in front of the class in about twenty minutes. Riku quickly went over to Cloud, who was already thinking about what to do for the presentation.

"Hey, Strife. Heard you like Kairi."

Cloud groaned. "Is this how you're going to greet me _every_ morning?"

Riku remembered back to Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning.

-

_Tuesday morning..._

"Hey, Strife. Heard you like Kairi."

_Wednesday morning..._

"Hey, Strife. Heard you like Kairi."

_Thursday morning..._

"Hey, Strife. Heard you like Kairi."

-

And now, it was Friday morning.

"Well, I'm just surprised about it. All this time, I thought you liked Aerith."

Cloud groaned louder. "Why does everyone always think that? Aerith was Zack's girlfriend, I can never forget that."

"Well, she _was_ the only one you talked too when you were a serious grouch."

"You know what, Riku, just shut up. I don't need you making up false statements about me."

"But it's truuuuuue," Riku whined.

"¡_Oye, _Strife _y_ Reilly! _¡Debáis empezar escribir su presentación!" _Mr. Russo said.

Riku blinked. "I'm only in Spanish 1."

"You should begin writing your presentation, gringo."

Cloud was happy to oblige. He wrote the first sentence down.

_"Oye, Riku, vamos al cine." Hey, Riku, let's go to the movies._

Riku wrote down a sentence in response.

_"Creo que quieres ir con Kairi." I think you want to go with Kairi._

Since the two would get in trouble if they talked more, they decided to continue their argument by writing.

_"Dejas de hablando, gringo." Stop talking, gringo._

_"¿Por qué? Hablo la verdad." Why? I speak the truth._

_"Hago que Tifa haga da__ño a tí." I'll have Tifa hurt you._

Riku immediately stopped teasing Cloud.

-

_1st Period: Sora - French 1_

Sora's French class was in session, but he found it hard to focus on the lesson. He was still thinking about what Tifa told him.

_Does Kairi...actually like me? I haven't yet gotten an actual statement from Kairi herself, but Tifa seemed so convincing. Did Kairi purposely share that paopu fruit with me without telling me? _

Then, his thoughts were interrupted by Kairi poking him on his side with a pencil. "Hey, what're you dreaming about?"

"Um...nothing." Sora looked at Kairi. "Kairi, are you sure you don't remember what you put in that cake?"

Kairi sighed. "I'm sorry, Sora, but I just forgot! I don't know how, but it's managed to disappear from my mind just like that."

"Kairi...are you lying to me?"

Kairi looked down. "Why do you say that, Sora? And if I am, it's just a stupid cake anyway."

"If it was so stupid, then why were you so intent on forcing me to finish it?"

Kairi pondered for a moment. "I told you, I didn't want it to go to waste!"

"Then why didn't you let Riku have some?"

Sora had backed Kairi into a corner. She couldn't think of something to fight back with. "Um...well..."

"Tell me the truth, Kairi. Is the ingredient of that cake paopu fruit?"

Kairi blinked rapidly and gulped. She tried to lighten the subject by attempting to joke around. "Get real, Sora, you really think I'd share a paopu fruit with _you?_"

Sora looked around the room for the teacher. She was busy helping another student. Sora would be able to speak louder.

"Don't try to steer away, Kairi. Just tell me. Do you believe in the paopu fruit's legend?"

"Well, definitely, but-"

"Was the special ingredient paopu fruit?"

Kairi opened her mouth, about to reject the statement yet again. By this time, however, she felt defeated. She slumped back in her seat and deeply sighed. "Yes. I put paopu fruit in the cake."

Sora drew a sharp breath and took in the confession. The third verbal confession has finally occured.

"Kairi, I-"

"Now that you know, Sora, my goals will be made clear." Kairi looked at Sora and stared him in the eyes. Sora could still tell that those eyes belonged to Kairi, but he also saw that they underwent a drastic change. Instead of the playful, joking eyes, he saw fierce, determined eyes.

Sora had not meant for this to happen. He was planning to do the same thing he did with Rikku. He was planning to tell her that just because she confessed, it didn't mean their current relationship would be ruined. However, it was very clear that what was occuring right now was following a much different path.

"Now that you know, my goals will be made clear. You _will_ be mine, Sora. I'm still willing to be friends with Rikku and Tifa, but I will secretly compete against them for your affection. I _will_ make you mine. No matter what."

For the first time of his life, Sora felt truely terrified of Kairi. Why was she acting like this. Was she really _that_ intent on 'getting' Sora?

"Um...o-okay?"

Kairi smiled. Her eyes returned to normal. "Great. Glad we have this understanding."

"Okay, class, we will be learning a new verb tense, the-"

Kairi looked back up to listen to Madam Russeau's new lesson. Sora looked down at his desk. He had just gotten a small taste of Kairi's obsessiveness.

-

_Passing Period: Between 1st and 2nd Period_

Riku was casually walking to G4, Mr. Nomura's room. He hummed to himself as he walked to G Hall. As he walked, he received some much appreciated glances from passing girls. Riku chuckled to himself.

_You don't even need to talk to them to get them. Oh yeah, I'm the original ladies' man._

"Riku! Riku!"

Riku turned around. He saw Sora running towards him. Sora looked a bit queasy and nervous.

"Hey, man, what's up with you?"

Sora eventually stopped running as he came by Riku's side. He panted heavily. "You don't know the crazy morning I've been through this morning!"

"Another crazy morning?" Riku said boredly.

"Kairi frickin' told me she likes me!"

Riku gaped. "You have got to be kidding me! She's admitted it?"

Sora nodded his head up and down, up and down, up and down and up and down. "Yeah!"

"Man, I was just joking around when I said she liked you! But to think...she really does?"

"I am freaking out, man!" Sora said frantically.

"What is there to freak out about? Now you've got two, potentially three hot girls after you! What's wrong with that?"

Sora grabbed Riku's collar and brought his face close to Riku's. "I've seen a side of Kairi I've never seen before. Did you know that Kairi is one of those crazy people who'd do anything to get what they want?"

"Your point?"

Sora tightened his grip around Riku's collar. "She told me that she would get me no matter what. She said that she _will_ make me hers. She said that she'd get me if it's the last thing she does."

Riku was completely dumbfounded. "That's a little...no very, _very_ creepy!"

"I'm scared of her, man," Sora said fearfully, looking over his shoulder. "Scared to hell. I used to rate obsessiveness from 'mild' to 'Tifa'. But Kairi's broken that scale _and_ the scale after that. I think I might puke the next time I see-"

"Hey, guys!"

Sora yelped and jumped into Riku's arms. Tifa raised her eyebrow at the two boys.

Riku blinked, then remembered that he was holding Sora. "Get off of me!"

Sora fell to the ground with a 'THUD!' Tifa helped him up.

"You okay?"

Sora gulped and nodded. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Tifa, you've got to protect me from Kairi."

"Why?"

"She's obsessed with me! You're strong, you've gotta protect me!"

Tifa shook her head. "Um, sorry, no can do."

Sora gave Tifa a horrified look. "But why?!?!?"

"Well, there's a difference between physical strength and psychological strength. Kairi's got some tremendous psychological strength. She's scary when she needs to be," Tifa said with a touch of fear in her voice.

"Since when?"

"Well, I remember seeing her at the mall last Sunday. She was in a clothing store, and she was reaching for this one blouse, right? Then this other really tough looking girl snatched it away from her. And that girl's face was all like fierce. But then, Kairi began saying some stuff to her. I was outside the store, so I couldn't tell what she was saying, but after every word, that 'tough' girl's face got more scared and scared and she kept backing away. Then when Kairi finished talking with her, the girl let go of the blouse and left the store crying. After that, I lost interest in hanging out with Kairi."

Sora's eyebrow was raised and his mouth slightly open. He looked over at Riku. "You get any of that?"

"Not a word, man."

Tifa groaned. "Kairi's the only person in this school I don't wanna mess with. Sorry, Sora, I like you, but you're on your own."

Sora turned to Riku with pleading eyes. "Riku, you're a macho guy. You'll help me, right?"

"Hey, man, I'm scared of Tifa. If Tifa's scared of someone else, that someone else will likely make me pee my pants."

Sora yelled out in anguish and curled up on the floor in fetal position. Tifa knelt down and stroked his head.

"Aw, poor baby."

-IV-

_4th Period: Sora - English_

Class was about to end in maybe 10 minutes. The English teacher usually gave the class this time to read their Literary Reading Book. Sora was on one end of the classroom, his nose pressed up against his The Da Vinci Code book. Kairi was on the other side of the room. Sora peaked up from above his book to look over at Kairi. It seemed she was too busy reading her own book, Eclipse, to bother with Sora.

Rikku poked him on the back. "Relax, Sora, I don't think she'll hurt you."

_"Then you don't know Kairi as well as you think you do,"_ Tifa muttered.

Rikku ignored Tifa. "Sora, don't let this ruin our first meeting at the World Cultures Club."

"I won't! As long as you protect me."

"Sora, you're a man!" Tifa exclaimed. "You need to fight for yourself."

"But I'm a weak man!" Sora wailed.

Rikku clasped her hands together. "Here's the thing. Kai wants what she wants. However, that doesn't necesarrily mean she wants the full thing. If she manages to get a satisfying part of it, she'll be okay."

"And just _how_ am I supposed to give her a part of me?!?"

"Hang out with her more often, get her to loosen up on what you call her _obsessiveness_. Be more friendly with her."

"But not too friendly!" Tifa intervened.

"Anyway, just don't avoid her. If you avoid her, you'll only be feeding her obsessiveness."

Sora looked at Rikku and Tifa. "You sure about this?"

Rikku smiled. "Positive."

Tifa pointed at Sora. "But again, don't be too friendly, or you'll hear from my fist."

-V-

_**The First Meeting:**_

_Lunchtime..._

Now lunchtime, Riku strode over to G4 once again. In his hand, he held a paper bag with his lunch in it. He looked inside and happily looked at the food.

_Some Cheesy Chips, a donut, and a BLT sandwich without the L and the T. Thank you, mother._

Riku entered G4. It was the same old classroom, only it was nearly empty. The only people inside were Mr. Nomura and Cloud, who was sitting at the front, eating a pizza pie.

"Ah, Mr. O'Reilly, welcome to the World Cultures Club. Please take a seat somewhere close to Cloud," Mr. Nomura greeted.

Riku took the seat to Cloud's right. "Hey, Cloud, I got a bummer of news to tell you."

"What's that?" Cloud asked, wiping some pizza sauce off of his mouth.

"Kairi likes Sora. I'm sorry, man."

Cloud scoffed. "Please, I already knew that."

"Really?"

Cloud flicked his hair. "Well, I assumed it, but you've now made me certain."

"Well, aren't you upset?"

Cloud laughed. "Well, Riku, unlike most other teenagers, _I_ don't make love my very first priority. If I manage to get the girl, great! If I don't, then oh well. Life goes on, you can't change that."

Riku gave Cloud a disgusted look. "You're not human!!!"

Cloud finished the final bite of his pie and gulped it down. "Nah, I'm different."

Then, more of the other members came into the room. Riku saw Kairi skipping in. Her arm was locked with Sora's. Sora seemed a bit uncomfortable, but he dealt with it.

"Sora, let's go sit next to Riku and Cloud!"

"Um, this is Kairi," Sora quickly said to Mr. Nomura as Kairi dragged him to the seats behind Cloud and Riku.

Tifa and Rikku came in shortly. Tifa eyed Sora and Kairi and clenched her fist.

"That girl is using my bit, _mine!_"

Rikku patted Tifa on the back. "Let it go, Tif."

Riku turned around to look at Sora and Kairi. Kairi gave him a friendly smile. Sora gave him an uneasy look.

"You know what? Forget it." Riku turned back around to face the front.

With all six members in place, Mr. Nomura closed his classroom door and came to the front. "Hello kids, and welcome to the World Cultures Club!"

Riku, Tifa, Kairi, and Rikku cheered. Sora let out a small hurrah. Cloud merely stayed silent, as usual.

Mr. Nomura grinned. "You guys are lucky. Five hundred freshmen battled it out to get these spots, but _you_ managed to make the cut."

"All we did was sign our names," Cloud pointed out.

"Yes, but you still pretty much competed against the entire 9th Grade class."

Rikku raised her hand. "Mr. Nomura, when will we be taking trips and all of that exciting stuff? Oh my god, it's so exciting!"

Mr. Nomura held up his hand. "We will get to that. And hey, don't call me Mr. Nomura while we're in this club! Whenever we have a club meeting, just call me Nomura, no formalities!"

Riku raised his hand. "Nomura, if we're going study world cultures, I say we should really focus on Grome!"

Nomura let out a small laugh. "So you're interested in Grome, is that right?"

Sora finally spoke up. "He's only interested in Grome because of the Olympians!"

"Hey, the Olympians are freakin' awesome!" Riku shouted. "Don't go out bad-mouthing them!"

"Well, young man, if you're _that_ interested in Grome, then we should make Grome our Thanksgiving trip."

Riku was overjoyed. "Oh my god, thank you so much, Mr. Nomura!"

"Are you all okay with that?" Nomura questioned.

There were a scatter of 'yes' answers and a simple 'sure' from Cloud. Nomura nodded.

"Very well, we shall go to Grome. But before we talk about these trips, let me talk about the Club itself."

All grew quiet. Nomura cleared his throat.

"The trips are just the aesthetic enjoyment of the Club. However, the main part is that we are going to learn to love and appreciate World Cultures. We will have parties, celebrate foreign holidays, and have a taste of the world's cuisine."

Kairi raised her hand. "Chinuh has a lot of different holidays. Actually, the Chinese New Year in February is coming up soon!"

Nomura pointed at Kairi. "You are precisely correct. Magnificent Chinuh, the Land of Dragons, oh what a culture I admire."

Cloud raised his hand. "What about Mainland culture?"

Nomura tapped his cheek. "Mainland, such a dry name for a country, but it is still a country of wonderful culture. It has some culture-filled towns like Traverse Town, Twilight Town, and even the world famous Disney Castle."

Rikku raised her hand. "Countries like Drussia!"

"Ah, Drussia is a magnificent place. Drussia, the Land of Departure, a place I have yet to go."

Tifa raised her hand. "How about the Caribbian?"

"Arrgh! If you're talking about the Caribbian, I immediately think about Port Royal, a town with pirates everywhere. If you want danger and adventure, Port Royal be the place you want to go."

Finally, Sora raised his hand. "And now here's the big one. Nihon."

Nomura sighed and put his hand to his heart. "Oh, how I love Nihon, my homeland. I remember my childhood in Japantown, Nihon's capital. I know every bit of Nihon culture there is. We just might go there some time."

The six friends talked excitedly. They were sure the World Cultures Club was going to be a blast.

"So you kids ready for the World Cultures Club?!?"

"YEAH!!!"

----------End----------

Tetsuya Nomura: A man of forty-something years who lives on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. He is a World History teacher for freshmen at Destiny Academy. Nomura is an apparently wealthy man who donates generously to Destiny Academy. Aside from teaching World History, Nomura also has a sought-after club called the World Cultures Club, where he sponsors many trips. The six members he chose to put in the Club are Sora Keiman, Cloud Strife, Riku O'Reilly, Rikku Grayson, Tifa Lockhart, and Kairi Dawson. Nomura was born in the country of Nihon, and developed a world famous video game there. Nomura is a kind man who is willing to spend a lot of money to help his students get a good education and have fun. It is not known if Nomura is married or has a significant other.

Although this story's Tetsuya Nomura shares about 95% of the qualities of the real life Tetsuya Nomura, they are not meant to be the exact same people.

**-Yet another chapter put up. Hope Kairi's obsessiveness doesn't overwhelm anyone too much. Also, I was wondering if any of my readers out there could make up their own country names and tell me about them. These countries should correspond to any real life country, but also have to contain a Kingdom Hearts "world". One of the examples from earlier: Chinuh (based on China, the world "The Land of Dragons"). Anyway, thanks for reading and feel free to review!-**


	14. Kairi Plus Tifa Plus Rikku Equals OMG

_Kairi: I am so NOT obsessive._

_dude overdrived: Um...yeah you are._

_Tifa: You're completely obsessed with him! More than me!_

_Rikku: Let's calm down! There's still a hella lot of percentage to go!_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 13: Kairi Plus Tifa Plus Rikku Equals OMG**

_Saturday morning...One Week after __**The First Meeting and Final Confession**__..._

Kairi was inside the 'Gotta Style' store. That Saturday, September 5, the store was having an Early Bird special. Everything in the store was 40% off. Naturally, all frequent shoppers of that store crowded in front of the store an hour before it opened. Kairi, being the goal-setter she is, was one of the first people in line. When the store finally opened, all hell broke loose.

Kairi looked to a rack beside her. There were two girls tugging on a purse.

"I want that purse!"

"No way, it's mine!"

Kairi laughed and went off to another part of the store. She carried with her several articles of clothing. As she walked to another rack, she saw the most beautiful dress ever. It was a pink strapless minidress. It would be a perfect combination with a white halter top and black belt.

As she walked towards it, she eagerly reached for the minidress. As she grabbed ahold of it, two other hands grabbed it as well.

"Hey, it's mine!" The three people said in unison.

Kairi took a look at the other two girls who grabbed ahold of the dress. She recognized them. Why wouldn't she recognize them?

"Tifa? Rikku?"

Tifa and Rikku looked at Kairi. They then took their hands off of the dress.

"Ah, you can keep it. I don't think it fits me, anyway," Tifa stated.

"It's not really my style. I like yellow clothes," Rikku said.

"Ah, girls, maybe we could flip a coin for it or some-"

"No, we're fine," Tifa and Rikku said at the same time.

Kairi shrugged. "Alright, then. Did you guys get anything?"

"Yeah! I got this great black matchup that makes me look tough. Tougher, I mean," Tifa replied.

"And I got this totally wicked combo of a tight orange shirt and short green shorts!" Rikku said.

"How does this dress look on me?" Kairi asked, holding the pink dress in front of her body.

"Kairi, that dress it a total YES for you!" Rikku happily replied.

Tifa nodded. "It's great. I think we're all done shopping, so how about we pay up and hang out?"

-

Tifa and the other two girls were walking through town, hanging out and having fun. However, Tifa felt she was a little more uncomfortable around Kairi. Tifa didn't bring up the topic of Sora in any of their conversations, so as not to set Kairi off. The past week at first glance may have seemed normal, but it most definitely was not. Tifa did not feel like reminiscing.

"Well, girls, we're back in the park," Kairi said, pointing at the panorama of the park. "What're you guys planning to do now?"

Rikku shrugged. "I was just thinking about going home. Got nothing better to do."

"I was thinking about going to Boxers and Butchers, and working on my kickboxing skills," Tifa said.

Kairi smiled. "Well, you two do that. I'm going over to Sora's."

Kairi turned around to walk away. It seemed like both Tifa and Rikku were compeled to do something.

"Sora's?" Rikku repeated.

Kairi turned back. "Yeah, Sora's house."

Tifa stepped forward. "Why should you be the only one to go there? I wanna go too."

Kairi blinked. "But-"

"Now I _do_ have something better to do. I'm going to Sora's, too," Rikku also said.

Kairi eyed both Tifa and Rikku. Neither of them backed down. Begrudgingly, she said, "Ok then. So we're all going."

Tifa looked at Rikku and then looked at Kairi. Rikku looked at Kairi and then looked at Tifa. Kairi looked at the both of them. There was severe tension in the air.

-I-

_Knock knock!_

Rikku knocked on Sora's house's door. To her sides were Tifa and Kairi. Soon, Mrs. Keiman answered the door.

"Oh, hi girls."

"Hi, Mrs. Keiman."

"Listen, I have to go meet a friend. Sora's up in his bedroom, so feel free to visit him."

"Thanks, ma'am," Tifa politely said.

Mrs. Keiman smiled as she looked at the three girls. "My son is so lucky to have such pretty friends."

Rikku smiled and nodded. "He most definitely is."

-

Not a person lay in Sora's room. Amidst the dirty clothing, scattered papers and half eaten pizzas, no one was standing. The door to the bathroom was open. The stereo set, however, was blinking a blue light.

A song began to play. The minute it did, Sora slid out of the bathroom. He literally _slid_ across the floor on his socks. He was wearing black sunglasses, a black shirt, his boxers (only), and black socks. He was holding a hockey stick. He immediately began lip synching to the song...

_"Just take them old records off the shelf"_

_"I sit and listen to 'em by m'self"_

_"Today's music ain't got the same soul"_

_"I like that old time rock and roll"_

-

Little did Sora know, three girls were peeking into his room and watching him dancing and singing to that song. The brunette giggled and pointed at him.

"Oh my gosh, that is _so_ dorky."

"I didn't know he liked Bob Seger," the blonde pondered.

"He doesn't, just this one particular song," the redhead corrected.

-

_"Don't try to take me to a disco"  
"You'll never even get me out on the floor"  
"In 10 minutes I'll be late for the door"  
"I like that old time rock and roll"_

Sora happily went along with the song. He then turned around and saw his three girl friends watching him. He yelped and fell to the ground. The song continued to play.

"Wha-what are you doing here?" Sora questioned as he hurried and turned off the stereo.

"We just felt like coming here," Kairi answered. "This was certainly one interesting greeting."

Sora sputtered some nonsense. He was a little bedazzled seeing three girls in his room. When no one else was home.

"What's wrong Sora?" Rikku chimed in. "Not happy to see us?"

"N-no, that's not it."

"Um, Sora?" Tifa began. "Aren't you missing something?"

Sora scratched his head, not sure what Tifa was talking about. He then looked down. He forgot he wasn't wearing any pants.

"MOTHERF***ER!!!"

The panicking Sora quickly sped into the bathroom. The girls laughed again.

-

Sora came out of the bathroom, now fully clothed. He looked at his friends. They were all on his bed. Kairi was sitting on the side. Tifa was laying face up. Rikku lay with her body face down. Sora gulped and cleared his throat.

"What are you guys doing here again?"

"We were bored," Rikku answered. "We had nothing else to do."

"What's wrong, Sora?" Tifa asked. "You look a little tongue tied. Never had three hot girls in your room before?"

Sora tried to talk, but found his tongue tied up. Tifa chuckled.

"I thought so."

Rikku sighed. "What do you do for fun on the weekend, Sora?"

"...What I was just doing."

"Welp," Kairi said, standing up, "That's what I'd call a boring life. We're taking you out."

Sora scoffed. "Taking me out where?"

"I know!" Rikku hopped off the bed. "How about a quadruple date? You pay for everything cause you're the man!"

"Huh?!?"

Tifa got off the bed, as well. "It's not really a date. We're just going out to have some fun."

Sora looked uneasy. "I...don't like the sound of this idea."

"You don't have to! _We're_ the ones who are going to have fun!" Kairi gleefully exclaimed.

"Then what am I gonna do?"

Tifa came up and locked arms with Sora. "You're gonna stand by and look pretty."

"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

Rikku came and also locked her arms with Sora's. "You're gonna look man-pretty!"

Kairi stood in front of Sora with her hands on her hips. She was smiling. "So just look pretty for the world. 'Kay?"

"..." Sora could not help but feel his manliness wither away.

-II-

"You guys, come on..." Sora whined.

He and the girls were in the park. Kairi and Rikku had their arms locked with his. Tifa was behind him pushing him forward. He looked like quite the ladies' man.

"People are staring!"

Indeed, people were staring at them, mostly teenagers. Many growing teenage boys were watching the four, envying Sora.

_"That lucky bastard."_

_"I'd kill to be in his spot."_

_"Those girls are so freakin' hot!"_

Sora paid mind to the compliments, and although he agreed with most of them, he still felt uncomfortable with the position the three girls had put him into. In truth, Sora had not always liked being the center of attention. He preferred to do most of his other-wordly activities at home, where no one would see him.

"I don't feel very pretty," Sora hotly said.

Kairi pinched his cheek. "You're the prettiest boy I know."

Exasperated, Sora tore away from all the girls. He stood in front of them, his arms crossed. "What is with all of you today?"

"We're just trying to have some fun," Tifa assured.

"By humiliating me in front of the world?!?"

"You're not being humiliated! You're being envied!" Kairi retorted.

"Even so! If you're just gonna carry me around everywhere to show yourselves off, then find someone else! I'm going home!"

Sora hurriedly walked away from the girls, heading back for his home.

"Sora!" Rikku called out.

Sora ignored her. He just continued walking away.

-

Tifa groaned. She thought she would be able to have some fun with Sora, even if _those two_ were with her. But apparently, three is _not_ better than one.

"Well this is great, he's mad now!" Tifa yelled.

"If it were just me with him, we'd be having some fun right now!" Kairi replied.

"What kind of fun?" Rikku said suspiciously.

"Not _that_ fun!" Kairi quickly said.

"Well, we don't need Sora to have some excitement!" Rikku announced. She then looked at Tifa. "Tifa, should we tell Kairi?"

Tifa crossed her arms. She wasn't sure what Rikku meant.

"You know. About C-L-O-U-D," Rikku spelled.

"What about Cloud?" Kairi inquired.

Rikku grinned. "Well, it just so happens...that Cloud has a major crush on you!!!"

Kairi giggled. "REALLY? Aw, that's so sweet!"

Tifa scoffed. "Yeah, tell him he's sweet. That'll _really_ make him feel good."

"But it _is_ sweet! I thought he liked Aerith!"

"You and about 95% of the school," Rikku clarified.

"Hey, maybe we should go find him," Kairi suggested.

Tifa pointed a finger at Kairi. "Don't play with him."

Kairi shrugged. "I'm not playing with him, I just feel interested in seeing him!"

"He'll be _pissed_ if he finds out we told you."

"Then I'm not going to say anything that'll give it away!" Kairi began skipping along the park pathway. "You girls comin'?"

-III-

Cloud grumbled curses under his breath. He was inside 'Skates and Wheelies', having been dragged there against his will. The person who dragged him there? You _might_ be able to guess who the person was.

Cloud muttered dirty words as he struggled to get his roller skates on. Before long, a tall teenage boy came up and slapped him on the back.

"Cut that out, Riku!"

Riku laughed. "Relax, man! Good job getting your skates on."

"This is so stupid. Why did you drag me here?"

"Cause I'm going to teach you how to pick up chicks."

Cloud glared at Riku. "Absolutely not."

"If you don't wanna learn, then why'd you come in the first place?"

Cloud growled. "Because you took my house keys _and_ my cell phone!"

Riku rolled his eyes. "And they're in my locker along with my shoes, so you can't get them until I decide we're done here."

"I refuse to do this."

Riku patted Cloud on the head. "I can see you're shy, but you'll open up. Here, just watch and learn."

Riku rolled into the rink. He found a cute girl close by enough so Cloud could watch. He tried to pick her up.

"Hey, baby. I was rollin' in circles 'til i found you."

"And _I_ was able to keep my food down 'til I found you," the girl said, rejecting him as she rolled away.

Cloud pointed and laughed at Riku. "At least now I know how to get rejected!"

"You just watch. She's one of those picky girls." Riku saw another cute girl close by. "_She's_ the easy type." He rolled on over to the next girl.

"Hey, baby. You know, they say silver-haired guys are the best kissers around."

"Um..." the girl looked over Riku's shoulder and looked at Cloud. "I think I'd rather go out with your blonde friend there."

"Ok, not the way I was hopin' for. But..."

Riku told her to wait, and he returned to Cloud. "Great news, man, I got you a date!"

"Screw you," Cloud said, without even glancing at the girl.

"Fine, your loss." Riku rolled back to the girl.

"Screw you."

_Slap!_

The girl slapped Riku hard, and with a "hmph", she went away.

"Wait no, _I'm_ not the one who said that, _he_ was the one who, aww!"

Riku went back to Cloud. Riku's cheek seemed to be pulsing.

"Well, I've seen you get rejected twice already. Can we go now?"

"Tell you what. If I still fail on the third try, _then_ we can go."

Riku scanned the area one more time. He noticed three girls near the counter, getting some skates. With a grin, he sped towards them.

"Hey girls, I-"

_Punch!_

Without even saying more than three words, Riku was rejected. Not only that, he was punched to the ground by one of the girls. She was a brunette.

"You dumbass, I already told you I will _never_ go out with you!"

Riku groaned and looked at the girls. He recognized them now. "I didn't know it was the three of you."

"Where's Cloud?" Kairi asked. She then looked over and saw Cloud over by the lockers. "Oh, there he is!"

The three girls, completely ignoring Riku, sped past him to get to Cloud.

Cloud was sitting on a bench, waiting for Riku to get rejected again so he could go home. He was not expecting to see Kairi come up and sit next to him. Or Rikku. Or Tifa for that matter.

"Hiya, Cloud!" Kairi eagerly greeted.

"Um...how did you girls find me?"

Rikku began talking. "Well, we went to your house, and we found your mom, she said you were here at the mall, we came back here, we went to this roller skating area, we ordered skates, Tifa punched Rikku, Kairi saw you, and we came here!"

Cloud yawned. "That's an interesting series of events. So why did you want to see me?"

"I dunno, we just wanted to hang out," Kairi said playfully. Cloud noticed she was acting differently right now.

"What's up with _you_ today?"

"Nothin'," Kairi said in a babylike voice.

Cloud's face turned red. Angrily, he scowled and glared at Tifa and Rikku. "What the HELL did you do?!?"

"I didn't do anything!" Rikku said nervously.

"You're lying!" Tifa stated.

"Ok fine, I did something!"

Cloud groaned and slapped his head. He then looked at Kairi. "Can you please ignore the two of them. Whatever they told you, they don't know what they're talking about."

"Yes we do!" Rikku jumped back in to the conversation. "Well, I do! Last week, you even admitted to me that you liked-"

Cloud put his hand over Rikku's mouth. "Shut your pie hole, and I will never trust you ever again."

Cloud took his hand off of Rikku's mouth. He sighed and put his hands on the back of his head.

"Think not differently of me, Kairi. I'm still the same guy, and I don't really pay all that much attention to love. The _professional_ kind, maybe, but not the other kind. Besides, you like Sora. Albeit obsessively."

"I am NOT OBSESSIVE!!!!!" Kairi shrieked.

The entire roller rink grew quiet. Cloud shrunk back in fear. And we're talking about Cloud, the guy who almost never gets scared.

Kairi put a finger over her mouth and laughed nervously. "Sorry. My bad."

"HEY!!!"

Cloud and the others turned around. Riku was walking over to them, steamed and pissed.

"How could you guys just leave me there?!?"

Rikku shrugged. "Sorry, Rik. We kinda came here to see Cloud."

Riku groaned. "Cloud Cloud Cloud!!! Sora Sora Sora!!! When is anything, _anything_ ever about Riku Riku Riku!?!"

"You're kinda spazzing right now," Kairi pointed out.

"I don't give a freakin crap! Don't any of you guys ever think about _me_?!?"

"Of course we do!" Kairi answered. "Just, you know, not that much."

Riku crossed his arms. "Well you know what? Screw you guys, I'm going home!"

Riku roughly took off his roller skates and tossed them at the front desk. He exited the rink, only having socks on his feet.

Cloud chuckled. "Maybe you guys _should_ think about him more." Then Cloud remembered something. He stood up. "RIKU!!! My house keys and cell phone are in your locker! Riku!"

-IV-

Kairi, Rikku, and Tifa walked together side-by-side. They were walking around the neighborhood, near Kairi's house. Kairi sighed.

"So much for having fun. Sora refuses to be pretty for us, Cloud's steamed about his stuff being trapped in Riku's locker, and Riku's busy being a spaz right now. All that's left is us girls," Tifa said.

Rikku hopped in front of the others. "Hey, we don't need any of those guys to have fun! We can have a Girl's Day Out!"

"But there's never anything to do," Kairi said, exasperated. "We've circled the mall twice, taken a walk throught the park _and_ the city, the amusement park is closed, and everyone else is off doing something else. Life has gotten really boring."

"Well well, looks like _my_ life's gotten more exciting."

Gasping, the three girls turned around to the voice, which was coming from behind. It was that dangerous senior from school, Sephiroth.

Sephiroth grinned. "Three little girls like you shouldn't be wandering around alone."

Kairi gulped. "U-um, we don't want any trouble, Sephiroth."

Sephiroth examined each of the girls. He placed the most focus on Tifa. "You have one very nice body."

Kairi saw fear in Tifa's eyes. If Tifa was scared...Rikku and Kairi should be downright terrified to the bone.

Sephiroth reached for Tifa. "How 'bout you come with me back to my-"

Suddenly, someone grabbed Sephiroth from behind and hurled him to the ground. Kairi recognized him as Genesis Rhapsodos, one of Sephiroth's friends. Soon, his other friend, Angeal Hewley came up. Genesis growled.

"Sephiroth, you're out of control! They're just freshmen girls!"

Sephiroth growled back, but he did not fight Genesis. "Why can't you just let me do what I want?"

"We're trying to help you, Sephiroth," Angeal came in. "You'll get nowhere doing these crazy stunts."

Sephiroth grew silent. He still had a look of anger on his face, but he did not talk back.

Angeal turned to the girls. "We're really sorry about him. We try to help him as much as we can...but it doesn't look so good."

"What's the matter with him, anyway?" Rikku asked.

"He's got the typical sob story. Dead mom, drunk dad, grew up around violence, gangs and all that."

"If you guys really have the power to help him," Rikku began, "You should do it quick, before someone gets seriously hurt. Or worst."

_He already did the worst seven months ago,_ Angeal thought. _If those two kids had only been more careful...the black-haired one would have never been..._

Genesis let go of Sephiroth and helped him up. Genesis grinned at the girls. "He won't bother you anymore. He'll deal with the two of us if he does."

Sephiroth stared down at the ground. His hands were clenched into fists.

Angeal and Genesis walked to Sephiroth's sides and the three walked away. Angeal waved to the girls.

"Good day."

The three watched as the three seniors disappeared from sight. Kairi sighed.

"This day has been really crappy so far. Right, Rikku?"

"Totally. Right, Tifa?"

Tifa did not answer. She began making a whimpering sound.

Kairi looked sympathetically at Tifa. "Tifa?" _Did Sephiroth really scare her that much?_

Suddenly, Tifa burst into tears. Rikku and Kairi hugged her warmly.

"Don't worry Tifa. We're here for you."

-V-

Rikku was now in her bedroom. She and the girls had departed for their own houses a while ago. It was getting late.

Rikku lay on her bed and reminisced about that day. She did find it a little bit upsetting and uninteresting. However, she was certain that had Kairi and Tifa not been there, it would have been worse. Those two could really liven things up. They were her best friends.

"I'm still bored." Rikku looked to her nightstand. Her diary was sitting there. Deciding there was nothing better to do, she took a pencil and began writing.

-

_Dear Diary,_

_It seems like I've had a somewhat uninteresting day. However, the only good thing about it was that I was able to hang out with my two best girl friends, Kairi and Tifa. I wouldn't trade the two of them for anything. Well, I might trade them for Sora...ah, I'm just kidding!_

_That Sephiroth guy...he really scares me. I'm just glad that he has two really good friends with him. With the two of them, he'll choose the right path. Eventually...I think._

_Aw, I'm only writing about depressing stuff! Let's be happy for now! To think, in two months, I'll be going to Grome with my five best friends! The architecture there is beautiful, combining the styles of the ancient Greecs and ancient Reauxmans. As for the guys, they could possibly have the chance to see the Olympians! We'll have so much fun!_

_Sora Keiman, Kairi Dawson, Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, and even Riku O'Reilly...I love you all. I wouldn't give you guys up for anything._

----------End----------

Sephiroth Makonian, Genesis Rhapsodos, and Angeal Hewley: Three seniors at Destiny Academy who are considered the toughest around. Sephiroth is a rogue and rebellious teenager prone to fights and violence. Genesis used to be a member of a gang, but later went through a kind of rehab, and is now a "good" student who no longer gets into trouble on the streets. Angeal is a respectable student who follows the right path of justice, despite the fact that he has gotten in trouble (for only a few minor disturbances). Genesis and Angeal constantly try to help Sephiroth stop his rogue ways, but they seem to only have little effect. Despite this, Sephiroth trusts his two friends. Genesis and Angeal are absolutely sure that deep down, Sephiroth can be a good person.

**-Hey, sorry about the late update. Had finals last week, so I couldn't fulfill my "update every two weeks" thing. Plus, it's the holidays after all! This chapter is rushed because I wanted to hurry and update before any of you guys think I gave up on this story. Anyway, thanks for waiting! R&R!-**


	15. A Crazy Plane on the Groman Venture

_Riku: Alright, we're going to Grome!_

_dude overdrived: Hey, can I come?_

_Sora: No, you have to stay and do the writing._

_Cloud: Yeah, that's a really fulfilling life. Sarcasm..._

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 14: A Crazy Plane on the Groman Venture**

_November, Sunday, First Week of Thanksgiving Break..._

_Honk! Honk!_

Sora got off of the bus. He was currently at Destiny Main Airlines. He had with him two pieces of luggage. Inside of them were the essentials, some socks, t-shirts, jeans, and a pair of underwear. Hey, a pair of underwear can last two weeks, right?

_Alright, so I gotta go to Terminal 5. I think._

Sora walked to the large airport. As he walked there, many thoughts raced across his mind. It would be the first time he had ever gone out of the islands without his parents. He was kind of nervous thinking about it, but was able to calm his nerves by remembering that his friends would be with him. Riku, Kairi, Tifa, Cloud, and Rikku were sure to make the trip all the more exciting.

Speaking of friends, Sora thought back to the past few months. He thought about Kairi, Rikku, and Tifa. Long ago, he found out that the three of them had feelings for him. Naturally, this came as quite a shock to Sora, seeing as he had never gotten a girlfriend before, let alone his first kiss. But a long time had now passed since the girls' "confessions", and Sora could still not quite understand his feelings for each of them in particular.

Kairi was the childhood friend...Rikku was the one with similar dreams...and Tifa was the one who he shared the most in common with. Those three girls looked so appealing...but at the same time, they were so annoying and stressful. Sora hoped that these problems would not interfere with this fun week long trip.

_Buzz! Buzz!_

Sora felt his phone vibrate. Letting down his luggage for a moment, he took out his phone and answered the call.

"SORA!!!"

Sora backed the phone away from his ear. Whoever was calling him sure sounded angry and impatient.

Sora brought the phone back to his ear. "What is it, Riku?"

"Everyone's here already at Nomura's private jet! We're all waiting for you, so hurry and get your lazy butt over here! There's so much culture to be learned over at Grome!"

Sora let out a haughty laugh. "You don't care about the culture. You only care about meeting the Olympians."

"So what?!? Technically, the Olympians are a part of Groman culture!"

"Yeah, whatevs, I'll be there."

Sora hung up his phone and put it back in his pocket. Even though he was mocking Riku about it, Sora too was excited about meeting the Olympians. They all happened to be named after Greec and Reauxman deities and mythological heroes, so that was interesting. Nomura did say that he could pull some strings to get them to meet those legendary football players...

Not wanting to keep his friends or his teacher waiting any longer, Sora took hold of his luggage and hurried to his destination.

-I-

Riku tapped his foot impatiently. He was outside, waiting at the foot of Nomura's long, white private jet. Also standing near the jet were his other four friends, as well as Mr. Nomura himself.

Rikku eyed the jet, her eyes sparkling with interest. "Wow, Nomura, your jet is so cool!"

Nomura chuckled and crossed his arms. "It's not the fanciest jet in the entire western hemisphere, but it's still nice. I enjoy piloting it."

"I can't wait to get to Grome!" Kairi exclaimed happily, Tifa listening to her.

"It'll definitely be fun!"

Kairi smiled at Tifa. "Hey, wanna be roomies with me and Rikku?"

Tifa laughed. "Wasn't that our plan in the first place?"

Rikku joined the girls and the three laughed together. Then Rikku spoke up.

"Hey, maybe we can convince Sora to room with-"

Nomura came to the girls and held his hand up. "Sorry girls, but I'm still a schoolteacher. We'll have three rooms at the hotel, one for me, one for the boys, and one for the girls."

"Oh, well!" Kairi shrugged. "I know! We can stay up all night and talk about fashion, food, culture..."

The three girls were off in their own world, speaking of the many things they want to do in Grome. Riku ignored them and looked to Cloud. Cloud was closeby, sitting on his luggage. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be deep in thought.

Riku walked to him. "Cloud, what the hell are you doing?"

Cloud opened his eyes and sharply looked at Riku. "I'm thinking."

"About what? About how you're going to make it with Ka-"

Cloud immediately delivered a powerful punch to Riku's stomach. With a gasp, Riku fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"I thought you would have learned by now that you shouldn't get on my nerves."

Riku growled back at Cloud, but did not say anything. He stood back up and resumed tapping his foot. "Man, where is that kid?"

Then, as if on cue, Sora came out of Terminal 5. His face was red and he was panting.

"Whew. Hey guys, sorry I'm late."

Cloud stood up. "It's about time. Riku was about to spaz."

"I was not!" Riku ran over to Sora. Anger in his eyes, he grabbed Sora's shoulders and shook him violently. "Why did it take you so long?!? We could be meeting with the Olympians right now!"

"B-b-but i-i-it's a-a-a s-s-s-six h-h-hour tr-tr-tr-trip!!!" Sora managed to squeeze out as Riku shook him.

Then, Tifa came over and punched Riku on his head. Riku fell to the ground quickly. "Don't you hurt my, er, _our_ Sora!" Tifa shrieked, referring to herself and the two other girls.

Riku lay on the ground, dazed. Nomura came and helped him stand up.

"Well, if these shenanigans are done, are we ready to leave now?"

Sora, Riku, and the girls eagerly rushed up the steps to the inside of Nomura's private jet. Cloud quietly followed behind. It was time for the trip to begin.

-II-

"Wow!"

All the kids, including Cloud, stared in awe at the inside of the jet. It was obviously a plane designed for luxury. The area they were in right now looked very much like a fancy den, with comfy seats around a large flat screen, two long white couches along the sides, shelves stocked with books, dvds, and video games, and a very large refrigerator closeby that was sure to have plenty of food and drinks inside. Also closeby were two tables and some plane seats with seatbelts.

Nomura chuckled. "It's not quite the biggest jet, but I still like it."

"This place beats first class on Suncoast Airlines!" Tifa exclaimed.

Nomura pointed to the right end of the jet. "To your right, you'll find the entrances to bathrooms and the virtual reality room."

Cloud's eyes widened. "A virtual reality room?"

"Yes, indeed. When you go in there, you'll find three stations that each have a helmet. Put on that helmet, and you'll find yourself in a virtual reality world."

"This could be interesting," Cloud mused.

"And if any of you get tired, you can either take a nap on the couches, or go upstairs to the beds."

Riku looked bug-eyed at Nomura. "There's an _upstairs_ to this place?!?"

"That is correct," Nomura answered.

Suddenly, a woman emerged from the left end of the jet. She had long, brown hair and wore a pilot's uniform.

Nomura went to the woman's side. "Everyone, this is my co-pilot. Say hello to Shera."

"Hi Shera," all the kids greeted.

Shera smiled and nodded. "It's nice to meet you all. I hope you have a good time."

Nomura spoke up again. "Shera will be piloting for the first 3 hours, and I'll be piloting for the last three. That way, you'll always have an adult supervisor here. That clear with you all?"

"Yes," all the kids answered.

"Great. Now take a seat with a seatbelt, and you can get up after takeoff."

-

The plane was now in the air. Sora looked out one of the windows. He could see many of the islands.

"This is so awesome."

Riku patted Sora's shoulder. "Hey, Sora, let's go to the virtual reality room! Cloud's already in there."

Nodding, Sora followed Riku into the virtual reality room. It was actually not all that large. It seemed only slightly bigger than Sora's bedroom. Like Nomura said, there were three stations. Each station was merely a platform with a suspended helmet coming down from the ceiling. Cloud was already on one of the stations. He appeared to be fighting, as his hand, which was wrapped around an invisible sword, was slashing at invisible enemies.

Riku handed Sora a pair of blue gloves and shoes that seemed to have some microchips on them. "Here, wear these things on your hands and feet. They'll allow you to choose what you want to do in the virtual reality world."

Sora took the items from Riku, and Riku went over to his own station. Eager, Sora hurriedly put on the virtual equipment and his helmet. In the virtual reality world, a welcome message appeared.

_Welcome to the VRW. Choose a game._

Several choices popped up. There were quite a few games that could be played.

_Finest Fantasy_

_Halo_

_Super Mario Brothers_

_The Legend of Link_

_The Prince of Castlevania_

_Ultra Sonic_

_Dead or Alive_

Sora was a fan of Mario. So, he decided to play Super Mario Brothers. Sora reached out his hand and touched the option. Immediately, the scene shifted from the game select screen to a large, open area with trees, clouds and walking mushrooms. Sora looked down at his hands and feet. His arms appeared to be covered with red sleeves, and his hands had gloves on them. He also seemed to be wearing blue overalls and brown shoes. In essence, _he_ was Mario.

"I'm Mario? That's so cool! Let's a-go!"

Sora "ran" forward. As he "ran," he felt the platform below him moving, which felt like running on a treadmill. He ran over to a walking brown mushroom, named a Goomba.

"Watch my jumping skills!"

Sora jumped up and onto the Goomba. He flattened it, and it disappeared in a puff of smoke. In its place was a coin.

Sora picked up the coin and admired it. It was round and golden, and the sun's rays shined brightly off of it.

"If only real life were like this. All you need to do make money is jump on a mushroom."

The coin disappeared, and Sora appeared to "absorb" points from it. Feeling energized, Sora continued running forward. As he ran, he admired the virtual landscape. It felt so real. He could smell the air, feel the sun shining down on him, and the wind blowing past him.

_Wow, the people of Nihon can make everything better._

Sora progressed through the level, killing more enemies and gaining more points. Eventually, he passed the flag at the end of the level.

_World 1-1 Complete. _

Sora whooped and jumped into the air. "Awesome!" He then looked at the castle in front of him. It was brown and had three stories. These type of castles seemed to always be at the end of every Mario level.

Sora rubbed his chin. "You know, I never got to see what was in these castles."

Soon, another menu popped up.

_Proceed to World 1-2?_

_Yes/No_

Sora ignored the option and walked past it. He went inside the castle, unaware of the dangers he would face.

-

Sora wandered the castle. He was walking in a grand hallway. There was a red carpet along the entire pathway, broken chandeliers being hung down from the ceiling, and ominous statues of the Koopa King Bowser. The statues seemed to be glaring at Sora as he walked past them.

Sora looked around fearfully. "This place is kinda creepy. And the inside makes it seem smaller than it really is."

After walking a long distance, Sora found himself in a more open area. The area was circular, and there was a large pool of lava in the center. He approached the pool and looked down nervously.

"I-it's a good thing this isn't real life. But still...I can feel the heat coming from it."

_Roar!_

Sora jumped. He looked around, startled. He did not see anybody.

"Who's there?!?"

Then, the Koopa King himself appeared on the other end of the lava. The enormous yellow and green turtle was angry, and had smoke coming out of his mouth.

"So you've come, Mario! I personally thought you would have waited until reaching World 8 to fight me, but I guess you're just eager to die!"

"Bowser!" Sora exclaimed. Sora got ready to fight. For a long time, he had only been able to defeat Boswer in video games. However...he now had the chance to take him down old style. "Bowser, you don't know how long I've been wanting to fight you for real. And now it's time!"

"Graaaah!"

"Haaaaa!"

Bowser ran forward, his clawed hands stretched out to grab Sora. However, Bowser forgot one thing: there was a pool of lava in front of him.

Sora got out of his fighting pose. He looked at the Koopa King flailing in the lava. Sora looked at him in disbelief. "You're kidding me."

"Graaaah!" Within seconds, the "mighty" Koopa King disintegrated, without a single bone remaining. Sora continued staring at the lava, disappointed with how anti-climactic Bowser's death was.

Sora groaned and shook his head. "Man, you're one of the stupidest villains I know!"

Exasperated, Sora looked around the room again. Then, a mysterious door appeared out of no where on Bowser's side of the battlefield. Sora went to the door and went inside of it.

When Sora emerged on the other side, he found himself in a dungeon of sorts. He continued forward.

"Mario! Oh, Mario!"

Sora saw a person coming towards him. As the person came closer, Sora identified the person as Princess Peach, the princess of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Peach hugged Sora. Sora was surprised that he could actually feel the hug.

"Oh, Mario, I knew you would come to save me!"

"What're you talking about, Peach? He came here to rescue me!"

Puzzled to hear another voice, Sora looked over Peach's shoulder. He saw another woman coming over. She was a brunette wearing a red dress.

Peach gave the woman a dirty look. "Get real, Pauline!"

_Pauline?!? The chick from the original Donkey Kong game?_

"You're both wrong! He came to rescue _me_!"

It puzzled Sora even more to see yet another woman coming over. This time, it was light-blonde haired woman wearing a blue dress.

_Rosalina?!? From Super Mario Galaxy?!?_

The three women grabbed Sora and argued over him.

"He's mine!"

"Mine!"

"No, mine!"

The girls tugged at Sora's clothing, his arms and his mustache. Not wanting to deal with this anymore, he ended the game.

"END GAME!!!" he called out.

Immediately, the game shifted back to the main menu, showing the game menu again. Sora sighed and rubbed his head.

"I'm getting really tired of being in the middle of three girls." Sora looked at the game list again. "I'll play Dead or Alive. Sounds like a horror game. No crazy girls there, right?"

-III-

Soon, the plane was ready and stable. Tifa watched as all the guys went over to the virtual reality room. She walked toward the stairs, nearby the bathroom and virtual reality room. She motioned for the girls to follow her.

"Hey, let's go upstairs."

Rikku and Kairi got up and followed Tifa. They ascended the stairs and found themselves facing two doors. One said "Women", and the other said "Men." Of course, the girls went into the Women's room.

The bedroom was quite simple. There were four simple, white beds in the room, with space under the beds to put luggage. There were also windows to look outside.

The girls piled their luggage and all sat down on one bed. They huddled into a circle.

"This is so exciting! Not only is this trip going to be great, the plane ride is too!" Rikku squealed.

Tifa sighed contently. "Grome is gonna be so great. I hear it's one of the best romantic getaways, right behind Frencois."

"Romance, huh?" Kairi laid down on the bed. She turned her head to look at her friends. "Who wants to talk about romance for a while?"

"I'm game," Rikku said.

"Eh," Tifa said halfheartedly.

"So," Kairi began, sitting back up, "When did u guys first start dating?"

Rikku answered first. "I got my first boyfriend in seventh grade. He was so sweet at first, but we eventually drifted apart after a while. Since then, I've had..." Rikku began counting her fingers. "Five, six, seven, eight...two more. So I've overall dated three people."

Kairi nodded. "Sounds average. Don't wanna be _the_ girl that gets around, do you?"

Rikku shook her head and laughed. "That is so _not_ me."

"Hehe," Kairi giggled. "I'm not that kind of girl either. But...I _did_ have quite a few boyfriends."

Tifa leaned in. "Oh, really? Please continue."

"Well, my first was this guy named Marlon. He was really cool, but he was a _bit_ too obsessed with his pastimes, like video games, television and reading comics. Eventually, he just stopped noticing me, and I broke up with him."

"Aw. That's too bad," Rikku said.

"It was probably for the best," Kairi pointed out. "I also went out with this one guy named Chad in eighth grade. He was really tall and the football type. But then, I found him cheating on me with a cheerleader."

"That kinda sounds like something out of a teenage drama," Tifa stated.

Kairi sighed. "Well, it just so happened to happen to me. Anyway, I haven't gotten another boyfriend since Chad. Plenty of guys had asked me out, but I never felt interested."

"I feel you, Kai," Tifa interrupted.

"What about you, Tif? How about your love life?"

Tifa laid down, with her head on Kairi's lap and her legs across Rikku's lap. "If you could even call it a love life."

Rikku tilted her head. "What do you mean by that?"

Tifa seemed hesitant. "Well...I've only had _one_ boyfriend."

"No offense, but I kind of find that hard to believe," Kairi revealed, hovering her hands over Tifa's entire body.

"Well, it's true. His name was Leo, at least, that's my nickname for him. It was in seventh grade. We dated for several months, and we had a great time. He was so cute. He was handsome, and it was always adorable how nervous he would get around me. But then..."

Kairi felt very interested in the story. "Then what?"

"He moved away, to the Radiant Garden. I felt so sad at first, that i didn't want to date anymore people. Eventually, over time, I thought about him less and less. And now, I barely think about him anymore."

"I wonder why," Rikku said with a chuckle.

Tifa giggled. "The Leo chapter in my life is over. Now it's..."

"Sora, right?" Kairi said with a half-smile.

Tifa again seemed hesitant to confirm her answer. "Well...yeah."

The girls grew silent. The silence was quite overwhelming, even more so than the sound of the outside wind. That familiar tension involving Sora returned.

Kairi was the first one to speak up. "Why do you guys suddenly get so quiet when we start talking about Sora?"

Rikku twirled her hair nervously. "Well...it's kinda because...you get kind of...obsessive."

Kairi bit her lip and took several deep breaths through her nose. "I...am...not...ob...se...ssive."

"Well, you do like Sora, don't you?" Tifa chimed in.

"I believe I do. We've been close since childhood, at least spiritually we were." Kairi then turned to Rikku. "Rikku? What about you?"

Rikku's mouth was closed, as if she was trying to keep herself from talking. However, it wasn't enough. "I can't help it! He's a cute funny charming sweet awesome guy! We've got similar dreams, and I just can't freakin' help it!!!!"

The silence returned as Tifa and Kairi looked at Rikku in bewilderment. Then, Tifa broke the silence with another sigh.

"So...how are we going to deal with this whole Sora thing?"

Rikku shrugged. "Dunno. We kinda make him seem like a playboy."

Kairi lifted her finger. "Maybe we could develop some kind of point system. Whoever has the most points in the end gets him."

"Points for what?" Rikku retorted. "What, are we supposed to get 5 points everytime we make him laugh, or 20 points whenever he voluntarily kisses one of us?"

"Or," Tifa said, "we could do the obviously sensible thing and let him choose."

Kairi blinked. "Choose? As in right now?"

Tifa got off of Kairi and Rikku and shook her head. "No, not right now. We just go back to what we usually do. Act normal, and see if we can persuade him to either of our sides."

Rikku listened intently and nodded. "Okay. But one thing. What if one of us ends up attracted to some other guy?"

"Then all the better," Kairi answered flatly. "Less competition."

Tifa pointed at Kairi. "But what if _you're_ the one who ends up liking some other guy?"

"Like who? Cloud?"

"Hey, Cloud's actually kind of cute!" Rikku announced. "He's just, you know, emo."

Kairi put her hands on her hips. "Oh, yeah? And what about Riku?"

Tifa lifted up her hands, motioning for the other girls to stop talking. "Okay, let me just say something. Even though I somewhat dislike Riku, I _will_ admit that he is good-looking. I just don't like him _in that way_."

"Look at us!" Rikku yelled. "We're supposed to be talking about how much fun we're gonna have on this trip, and instead, we're talking about stressful stuff like romance and relationships!"

"Well, what else is there to do?" Kairi asked, exasperated.

Then, the door opened. Shera came into the room. "Hello girls. I was feeling a bit worn out, so Nomura took over for me. He'll be piloting for the next hour, then I'll return. Don't worry, I won't bother you."

The girls stared at Shera. Shera looked back nervously at them. "Um, is something wrong?"

Rikku held up a pink bag. "Hey, Shera, want to get a makeover?"

-IV-

Cloud took his helmet off. He was now getting tired of the virtual reality world. He looked over at his companions, Sora and Riku. They were still quite sucked into their games.

Cloud exited the room. He yawned and decided to take a nap. He ascended the stairs up to the bedrooms. He opened one of the doors and entered one of the bedrooms.

"Cloud, get out of here, this is girls' time!"

"Huh?"

Cloud saw that he had accidentally entered the Women's room. He saw Tifa, Kairi, and Rikku huddled around Shera. They seemed to be giving her a makeover.

"Oh, sorry."

Cloud closed the door and went into the other bedroom. Feeling very tired, he climbed onto one of the beds. The minute he put his head on his pillow, he fell asleep.

-

_The wind felt nice and cool. It wasn't too windy. It felt just right. _

_I was sitting at a bench in the park. Sounds of playing children echoed in the background. They sounded so happy._

_I looked around. Today seemed like a normal day. People talking and having fun, it was completely ordinary. There was only one problem, though. What was I doing here when I was supposed to be on a plane?!?_

_I scratched my blonde hair, thinking about the situation._

_"I get it. I'm dreaming. I remember lying on a bed in Nomura's jet."_

_"You always did talk about the most uninteresting dreams, Cloud."_

_The voice sounded familiar. I turned to my side as someone sat by me. I recognized the person immediately._

_"...Zack."_

_Zack grinned. "Good to see you again, buddy."_

_I frowned and looked down on the ground. "..."_

_Zack shook my shoulder. "Hey, Cloudie, you there?"_

_"You know that seeing you again, even if it's in my dreams, is painful. I'm trying to move on, but how is that possible when you come here and become a constant reminder about-"_

_"Blah, blah, blah," Zack interrupted. "Come on, Cloud. I thought you'd become more interesting in the past several months."_

_"You're one to talk."_

_Zack laughed. "Ha, I guess you're right. Well, we're not gonna see anything interesting by sitting here." Zack stood up and looked at me. "Well? You coming with me or not?"_

_I looked at him, unsure. However, if this would allow me to spend some more time with my best friend, then I'd have to take it. I stood up as well._

_Zack smiled. "Great."_

_-_

_In the blink of an eye, we reappeared in a zoo like area. I looked around, and realized that I was inside of a cage. There was nothing and nobody else in the cage, only me. People passing by came and looked at me like I was some kind of animal._

_"Mommy, what's that thing?"_

_"That's a Homo-sapiens nimbus. It's like a human, but tends to be very withdrawn."_

_I grabbed the bars of the cage and glared at the people. "Hey, I'm not an animal!"_

_It seemed like everyone couldn't hear me. They just continued passing by and looking at me like another exhibit._

_"Hey! Stop staring at me like that!"_

_Then, to my surprise, Zack soon came up to look at my exhibit. He was chewing some popcorn._

_I looked angrily at him. "Zack, is this your idea of a joke?"_

_Zack scowled. "What joke? This is the real you."_

_Hearing Zack say this only made me angrier. "I know who I am. And this is not me."_

_"Hate to break it to you, Cloudie, but it is. You've completely withdrawn yourself from society to become this, a homo-sapiens nimbus. You don't even deserve the name 'wise cloud human'. It doesn't fit you."_

_Enraged, I beat on the bars of the cage. "That's enough, Zack!"_

_"Face it, Cloud, you keep fooling yourself by saying you've moved on, but you're still the same-old same-old emo that you were after I died! You're nothing but another loner!"_

_"You don't know me!" I shrieked at him. I never thought I'd see the day where I would be angry at my best friend. "I'm not that person anymore, and I never will be again! I love my family, I love my friends, and all else that I hold dear to me! I'm not going to live my life afraid of losing anything ever again, cause I got people to back me up! My mom, my dad, Sora, Tifa, Rikku, Riku, and Kairi! They've all got my back, and because of that, I'll never be caged up again!"_

_I felt a powerful strength growing inside of me. With the resolve to prove Zack wrong, I tore down the bars in front of me. I escaped this cage, and even after I escaped it, I proceeded to break it down more and more. After only a few minutes, the entire cage was reduced to a pile of broken metal._

_I turned around to Zack again. He was smiling warmly. Everyone else was gone._

_"You really are wrong, Cloud. I do know you. I know you're a caring person who can do anything he puts his mind to."_

_-_

_We disappeared from the zoo and reappeared again on the bench in the park. It was me and Zack sitting side by side. It was as if nothing ever happened._

_"You didn't have to be so extreme with getting your point across," I said with a smile._

_Zack chuckled. "Well, I needed extreme methods in order to get through that thick skull of yours."_

_I leaned back on the bench and looked up at the sky. "This is great. You and me again. Feels like old times."_

_Zack patted me on the back. "Most definitely. And soon, you'll make new times with your new friends. You just wait."_

_Zack stood up and began walking away. However, he said one last thing._

_"I'll always be here, Cloud. Embrace your dreams."_

-V-

The sound of wheels hitting the pavement woke Cloud up. With a groan, he got up from his bed. He had apparently slept the entire plane trip.

"Hooray, we're in Grome!" the girls cried out from below.

Sora came up to the Men's room. "Hey Cloud, get your stuff! We're going!"

Cloud stared at Sora. After a few moments, the other four came up to see Cloud out. Kairi grinned. "Well Cloud? You coming?"

Cloud looked at them for a few more moments. Then, with a genuine smile, he said, "Yeah. Most definitely."

Cloud gathered his luggage and followed his friends out. It was time for another adventure.

_Zack...you'll always be there. I'll embrace my dreams._

----------End----------

Axel Grayson: A twenty-one year old man who is the older brother of Rikku Grayson. Axel owns a red Prius, which he is very protective of. His nickname is "Lea," which is the name Rikku often gives him in order to annoy him. Axel can be a bit lazy at times, but is serious when he needs to be. Axel is also very protective of his little sister, and is reluctant to see her with any boys. Axel tends to say "Got it memorized?" as a part of his daily dialogue.

**-Hooray, we're in Grome! This chapter marks the end of Cloud's Zack problems! Now all we have left to worry about are Sora's girl problems and Riku's manliness issues! Hooray!-**


	16. Rikku x Self Control?

_Rikku: The world is such a beautiful place._

_Sora: You seem more mellow than usual._

_Nomura: She is simply admiring the wonderful culture of the world._

_dude overdrived: And I don't?_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 15: Rikku x Self Control?**

-I-

"I can't believe we're actually here!"

Kairi stretched her arm out as she lay her suitcases on her bed. She, along with everyone else in the club, was in Roma Hotel, a beautiful hotel right in the heart of Grome. Their hotel room was simple and clean. There were three queen sized beds with the perfect amount of room for the three girls. The beds were a bright maroon, and seemed as soft as a cloud. The windows' curtains were adorned with a beautiful floral pattern. Along the walls were several frescos, some of which were smaller versions of famous frescos made by artists like Michaelangelo, Rafael and Julio Romano. One couldn't ask for a better living space.

Tifa jumped onto her bed and comfortably spread out her body. "Ah, this bed feels so good. I could just fall asleep right now. Zzz..."

And true to her word, Tifa fell asleep. Kairi giggled and looked at Rikku. Rikku was staring out a window. She seemed absolutely mesmerized by the foreign city.

Kairi walked over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Rikku? You alright?"

Rikku let out a contentful sigh. "This place...is just so beautiful. Completely different from the islands, where I've lived my entire life. The architecture is so amazing, with perfect arches and stunning cathedrals. Not only that, we're so close to Vatican City."

Kairi smiled. Rikku was so calm and peaceful. That was a side of her not seen so often. "Rikku, you're sure mellow today."

Rikku smiled and looked at Kairi. "I'm reveling in this great place. Who wouldn't want to go to Grome?"

Kairi giggled and hugged Rikku. "I know exactly what you mean."

-

While the girls were having a charming the conversation, the guys were having quite the opposite. Neither of them paid any attention to the decorations of the room. They were instead having other problems.

"Riku, this is my bed!" Cloud barked.

"Hey, a big man like me needs all the room he can get!" Riku boasted. "Plus, I need beauty sleep so I look good when we get to meet the Olympians!"

"Do you realize how stupid you sound right now?!?" Cloud yelled. "THIS-IS-MY-BED!!! You don't need to look good to meet the Olympians!"

Riku snarled. "Are you mad, man? Aren't you even excited to meet the Olympians?"

"Look, I'm here to enjoy the culture of Grome and have a good time. And you're pretty much ruining that right now." Cloud looked over at the third boy. "Why can't you be more like Sora?"

Riku looked at his best friend. Sora was lying on his bed, earphones in his ears. He was reading a gaming magazine and keeping to himself.

"The only good thing about being Sora is because of Kairi, Rikku and Tifa."

"You make them sound so immaterial, jerk," Sora said.

"What does that mean?" Riku asked, scratching his head.

"It means irrelevant, or not having matter or substance. At least _I_ pay attention in class," Cloud said, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, I don't think those girls are immateriam! They matter to me as-"

"No one wants to know!" Sora blurted out, taking off his earphones.

"Hey, have you decided yet who you're gonna choose?" Riku questioned.

Sora groaned. "I would rather not talk about that right now."

"But your girl problems are the main plot behind this entire story!" Riku announced.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sora asked, frowning.

"Never mind that. Look, just choose one so I that I know who are the two I can go after."

Sora shot Riku a warning glare. Riku flinched.

"Geez, all right. But you're gonna have to choose one some time. Believe me, from personal experience, when you try to juggle more than one girl, things do not turn out well for you."

Sora surprisingly found some wise philosophy behind this statement. Sora did not think he would be able to juggle the three for that much longer **(A/N: That much longer? The prologue takes place in senior year, and he still hasn't chosen!!!)**.

_Riku's right. They'll eventually grow tired of waiting, and I'll be left lonely and without a relationship. Man, why is this so tough? _

_Knock! Knock!_

"Come in," Riku yelled out.

The door opened, and the blonde girl of the group entered. It was Rikku, looking strangely mellow.

"Hi, Rikku," the three guys said unanimously.

Rikku smiled...calmly. "Hey, guys." She then turned to Sora. "Sora, can I see you for a sec?"

Sora put down his gaming magazine. "Uh, sure."

"Meet me at the recreation room at the end of the hallway. There's no one else in there right now."

Rikku then left the room without another word. Riku was grinning stupidly and pointed at Sora. "Oh, shoot! You guys will be alone!"

"Knock it off," Cloud said gruffly. "Sora, you should go there before she gets mad."

Riku scoffed. "Like Rikku'd ever get mad."

"It's always the nicest ones that are the scariest when angry," Cloud pointed out.

Sora got out of bed and put his shoes on. He then walked towards the door.

"Go get her, big boy!" Riku called out, giving Sora a thumbs-up.

-

Sora entered the recreation room and looked around. Sure enough, it was plenty empty. There were tables and chairs scattered across the room, though it seemed like no one had been in there for a while. This room seemed to be the room used to host parties.

Sora looked ahead. He saw Rikku standing in front of a window, looking at the city in front of her. He walked to her.

"Hey, Rikku."

Rikku did not answer. She instead patted the wall to her side, motioning for Sora to come to her side.

Sora looked at Rikku oddly. She was acting quite strange today. It didn't actually bother Sora, it just struck him as a bit odd. Normally, Rikku would have run up to him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him to her side. Instead, she was just quietly motioning for him to come to her. It was as if her "hoppy" personality had gone away temporarily.

He went to her side as told. He looked at Rikku. Rikku did not even seem to notice him looking at her. Her eyes were fixated on the area ahead of her. Curious about what caught her attention so deeply, Sora looked out the window.

Numerous canals connected the many parts of this Groman City. The canals were clear, without pollution and garbage. Sora looked to the side and saw something that he had learned a lot about during 7th grade history. It was an aqueduct bridge, named _Pont du Guard, _meaning "bridge of the guard." This aqueduct was a pretty popular tourist spot, and is also a world heritage site. There were also seveal cathedrals around, but one that caught Sora's eye was the _Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura,_ translating into "Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls." It looked interesting to Sora, seeming to reflect Neo-classicism.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Sora looked at Rikku. Her eyes were so peaceful. The magnificence of the country had Rikku firmly in its grasp.

"Sure is. That's the whole reason we came here. To see all the great things in Grome."

Rikku smiled and pushed Sora playfully. "I thought you only wanted to come here to meet the Olympians."

"That's a secondary reason for me. That's the primary reason for Riku," Sora said with a laugh.

Rikku turned back to the city. She sighed. "Majestic..."

"You're really mellow today, Rikku. Why is that?"

"I...I'm not too sure myself. I don't know why, but truely beautiful sights just always take the breath out of me. I'm under this country's spell. I'm entranced by the wonders of this foreign world."

"Oh, so I'm not beautiful?" Sora asked jokingly.

Rikku laughed. "I'm quiet right now, aren't I?"

Sora leaned on the wall and stood closer to Rikku. He eyed her in the eye. "Don't get me wrong, Rikku, I think that everything you think is really great. But, is there a particular reason you had me come here?"

Now Rikku looked away and looked at Sora.

"I'm really glad...we're here, Sora. Together, with all my friends on this great adventure. Together, for a taste of all the things left to come. Together...with you."

Sora blinked. He looked down as Rikku slid her hand over Sora's. Sora's heart began to race.

"Sora...I'm really glad I can be here with you."

Silence filled the air. Sora, nervous, stared at Rikku as Rikku stared at him. She didn't look nervous at all. Then, something happened. Something that Sora would remember for the rest of his life. She leaned forward.

Sora's heart raced rapidly. But why? All she did was lean forward. To Sora, it was more than just leaning forward. It meant that Rikku was going to do something with him. No, not _that_.

Rikku's face came closer and closer to Sora's. They were only inches away from coming into contact.

_I-Is this for real?!? Is she going to kiss me? No, I shouldn't get too ahead of myself. Maybe she's just trying to beat me down in a staring contest. Or maybe I have something on my face and she's leaning closer to clean-_

It happened. Before Sora knew it, his lips were pressed against Rikku's lips. Rikku's eyes were closed. Sora'e eyes were opened, both shocked and pleased.

_My first kiss...with Rikku. So this is what it feels like. Kissing...when done right, it'll form such an intimate bond between the two. I feel really close to Rikku now. Man...her lips sure are soft._

Eventually, Rikku pulled herself away from Sora. However, she kept her eyes closed. She was smiling so brightly, as if she was relishing her first kiss with Sora.

"That was your first kiss, wasn't it?" Rikku asked, her hand still on Sora's hand.

For a moment, Sora couldn't talk as he was still surprised about the kiss. He had never been kissed before. Sora tried remembering every part of the kiss, in case it never happened again. He remembered the breathtaking beginning, when the lips first came into contact. He remembered the close, intimate feeling he had with Rikku during the kiss. And he remembered the bittersweet finish, when they pulled away from each other.

"Rikku..."

Rikku finally took her hand off of Sora's hand. She giggled and began jogging to the door.

"Come on, we should go back to everyone else."

Without waiting, Rikku left Sora alone in the room. The very last sound made was the shutting of the door. It was complete silence.

Sora looked around the room again. He pictured everything, trying to remember this exact scene. He memorized the smell, the sight, and anything else that could help him get it memorized.

"Rikku..."

-II-

_The following day..._

"These are the Baths of Desius."

Sora looked at the "baths" in front of him. They were far more impressive than his own school. The Baths of Desius had a main building in the center, surrounded by four other smaller buildings. Other than that, Sora did not know so much about the Baths, but he was sure Nomura was going to tell them more.

"The Baths were a building project of Emperor Desius. It overlooks all of Ventine Hill, surrounded by many grand temples and patrician mansions. As you can see, there is a main building in the center, surrounded by wings. The different wings house gymnasiums and libraries, while the main building itself contains the frigidarium."

"What's a frigidarium?" Riku asked.

"Why, it's the public bathing area!"

"Unisex?" Cloud piped in.

"Cloud, you dog!" Riku said playfully, using his hand to mess with Cloud's hair.

"I was just curious!" Cloud angrily said, shoving Riku's hand away.

"You guys are rowdy today," Nomura said with a chuckle. "But Rikku, you're sure being qui-"

Nomura stopped. He looked at the group and counted heads.

"Sora one. Riku two. Kairi three. Cloud four. Tifa five. We're missing one!"

"Rikku!" Tifa yelled, her face immediately getting filled with worry.

"We're missing Rikku!" Riku screamed, putting his hand on his head.

"Okay, no one panic," Nomura said calmly, "she has her cell phone, right?"

"I think so," Tifa said, taking out her own cell phone. "I'll call her."

Tifa frantically dialed the number and brought the phone to her ear. Everyone watched her worriedly. Then...something on Kairi's person began to ring.

Surprised, Kairi felt around her pockets and took out a phone that did not belong to her. "Uh-oh."

"Why do _you_ have Rikku's cell phone?!?" Sora shrieked.

"Man, I forgot I had it! Rikku told me to hold onto it since her pants didn't have any pockets, so she never had it!"

"What're we gonna do now?" Tifa asked woefully.

Sora snarled. "I'm not gonna let her be all by herself. I'm running after her!"

Before anyone could object, Sora sprinted away.

"Sora, it's too dangerous!" Nomura yelled at him.

"I have my cell phone on me!" Sora yelled back. And soon, he was lost in the crowd, his sights set on finding Rikku.

-

Saying he was going to find Rikku was easy to say. Actually finding her was a different story. Sora was completely alone and lost on Ventine Hill. He had no idea where anything is. He didn't even know where the Baths of Desius were! He was alone, and he would have to rely on luck to find the missing blonde.

Sora found himself running beside many warehouses. As he ran, he couldn't help but remember another history lesson. Right now, he was running along the Vicus Portæ Trigeminæ, an ancient gate that linked the Forum Boarium and the Emporium. The gate did not actually exist anymore, but was still quite well known among Groman historians.

Sora growled, wondering why he was thinking about history at a time like this. He had to find Rikku, not teach himself anything!

After running around for a bit, Sora stopped by the edge of the Tiber River and took a breath. He was getting tired, but he knew he had to keep looking until he found Rikku. He wouldn't stop until then.

Distressed, Sora looked around the area. He was at the gulley of Tiber River, separating the two peaks of Ventine Hill. There was a small bridge linking the peaks.

"Yoohoo, Sora!"

Sora recognized the voice. He looked at the bridge and saw a certain plucky blonde waving at him.

"Rikku!"

Forgetting his exhaustion, Sora ran over to Rikku. She smiled at him as he panted heavily.

"What're you doin', Sora?"

"What am _I_ doing? What are _you_ doing?!? You had me worried sick!"

Rikku grinned. "I did?"

"Of course! You can't just run off like that without telling anyone!"

"I'm sorry." Rikku turned away from Sora and looked off into the distance. "I guess I'm just acting weird today."

"Rikku..."

Sora stood next to her, watching what she was watching. He just couldn't get her at all. Why did Grome fascinate her so much? Why did it fascinate her so much that she had to just get away from everyone so she could have Grome to herself?

"I'm sorry for worrying you, Sora. But, at least I don't have to worry about getting lost anymore."

"What do you mean?"

Then, Rikku came and hugged Sora. Sora lightly gasped. Rikku had never been this intimate in one day.

"I don't have to worry about getting lost...cause I know you'll always find me."

Hearing this, Sora let out a chuckle. "You know, I could get used to this new personality of yours."

Laughing, Rikku pinched Sora's nose. "Don't get too attached to it. Well, we should get back to the others. I remember the way back to the Baths."

Rikku took Sora's hand, and with a giggle, she ran to the Baths, with Sora beside her. Sora sighed.

_Looks like today...is Rikku's day._

-

Kairi waited impatiently at the Baths. Nomura and the other three were next to her, all worried about Sora and Rikku. Just where could they be?

"Yoohoo, we're back!"

Kairi's head snapped around to the voice. To her relief, Sora and Rikku were coming back to them. And they were holding hands?

"Oh, thank god," Nomura said, relieved.

Rikku came up to the group. Instead of an apologetic face, she had on a smile.

"Rikku!" Kairi said, stomping her foot on the ground. "How could you just run off like that? We were all really worried!"

Now the apologetic face appeared on Rikku. But the smile remained. "Really sorry, Kaikai. I won't do it again."

"Um, Rikku," Nomura said quietly, "would you be a dear and please not tell the school board I wasn't watching you?"

Rikku winked. "It'll be our secret."

"Okay, good then! The tour shall continue!"

Kairi pointed at Rikku's and Sora's joined hands. "Um, why are you guys holding hands?"

"No reason," Rikku said, letting go of his hand. But as she let go, she and Sora looked each other in the eyes, looking a bit sad that they had to let go of each other.

Kairi bit her lower lip. _Just what happened with those two?_

----------End----------

Destiny Islands: A large chain of islands where the majority of the story takes place. Sora and his friends live on the central island, appropriately named Main Island. There are also several other islands, like Isla Domingo, Isla Tierra, and Isla Mundo. The Destiny Islands lie just off the shore of the country Mainland, with a large bridge connecting the west coast of Mainland to Isla Deporte.

**-Hey guys! Sorry about this really late update, the schoolwork's been packing up. You'd think they'd give us a break after finals. Ugh! Also, sorry that this chapter was kinda shorter than the others. I wanted to hurry and update before you guys thought I gave up on this story. Also, there may be several historical inaccuracies. But hey, **_**Grome**_** isn't **_**Rome**_**, even though they have many of the same sites! Anyway, there will be one more chapter taking place in Grome, and then we'll be back in the Destiny Islands. And if you're a fan of the Roxas/Xion pairing, check out my other story, "Kaze no Roxas." R&R!-**


	17. The Lonely Lover of the Protagonist

_Kairi: Grr, they're getting too close._

_Tifa: That Rikku. Who knew she had some tricks up her sleeves?_

_dude overdrived: You guys do realize you still have a lot of time (percentage) to get back into the game, right?_

_Riku: Who cares about that?!? I'm gonna meet the Olympians!_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 16: The Lonely Lover of the Protagonist**

The hot, steamy water falling from the shower caressed Kairi in its loving arms. The oh-so-desirable warmth made Kairi feel like melting chocolate. Kairi made sure to enjoy this relaxing shower.

It was nearing the end of the one-week trip. It was now Thursday morning. The very next day, she and all the other members of the World Cultures Club would pack up their things and travel back to their homeland of the Destiny Islands. Although Kairi felt a bit homesick, she was sure she was going to miss Grome very much.

The week had been very exciting. Not only was it fun, it was also educational. Kairi got to visit several still-standing temples from back in the 3rd century. She also got to ride through beautiful canals, and she even visited the famed Vatican City. Today, however, she would get to go to one final destination: Olympus Coliseum. Yes, the famed Coliseum where the Olympians would play their much anticipated football games. It was also the only reason Riku wanted to go on this trip.

Somehow, Nomura managed to pull some strings so that the Club would be able to meet the Olympians. This would surely be a treat for both Riku and Sora, but mostly Riku.

Kairi sighed. She let the hot water flow down her body and down the drain. She stood in thought.

_I was thinking about Riku and Sora. But now I'm thinking about Rikku and Sora._

Something weird was happening in the Club. Sora and Rikku seemed to be getting closer, more close than usual. At first, Kairi thought it was because Sora was attracted to Rikku's temporary change of character. But now, Rikku has reverted to her original self, and Sora is still spending a significant amount of time with her. This began to worry Kairi. Just when she thought Tifa was her only real threat, Rikku jumps in and takes the prize.

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid. After all, Sora spends plenty of time with me, and nothing happened between us...unfortunately. But, the way he is with Rikku, he seems different. What happened between those two?"

Kairi looked at her hand and made it into a fist. "I'm keeping my eye on those two. If anything does happen, I'll be the first one to find out."

-I-

"Whoo, we're going to Olympus Coliseum!"

Riku was literally jumping around the entire bedroom. Cloud attempted to ignore him as he tied his shoes and fixed his hair. But Riku simply came up to him, shook him violently and messed up his hair.

"Aw, Riku, cut it out! Look what you did to my hair!"

Sora gave Cloud an odd look. "That's not something you'd expect a guy to say."

"Hey, I don't want to go out to the world and seem like a dirty hophead who is as high as a kite. I want to make myself presentable."

"The kid's got a point, Sora!" Riku yelled, putting his arm arond Cloud. "I mean, we _are_ meeting the Olympians, after all! We've got to look good!"

"I'm not too excited about that," Sora said, jumping back onto his bed. "I'd rather stay here."

"You mean stay here with Rikku?"

Sora shot Riku a glare. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Riku shrugged while keeping a goofy grin on his face. "I dunno. What exactly did you and Rikku do that day you met in the rec room?"

Sora didn't answer. He instead looked to the ceiling and reminisced about that day. That day, when he had his first kiss with the girl known as Rikku Grayson. He thought about the softness of her lips and the intimate feeling he had with her. It was simply nostalgic.

"Uh, Sora, what are you doing?" Cloud questioned.

Sora was not sure what Cloud meant. He then noticed that he was making kissy faces at the ceiling. Riku fell to the ground and cackled with laughter.

"Oh my god, you should have seen your face! Your eyes were closed, and your lips were puckering out so much, I could have sworn you ate a Sour Patch!"

Riku continued laughing as he stood up and went to Sora's side. He patted him on the back noticeably hard.

Sora sighed. He looked at Riku, those his eyes seemed distant. "I've just...I dunno. I've been having these weird thoughts lately. Was what happened that day for real? Or not?"

"My boy, my boy! You kissed her, didn't you?"

Sora snapped himself back into reality. "N-no! I didn't!"

"Aw, you can't lie if your life depended on it! I can see it, my boy! You're becoming a man and breaking out of your shell!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

Riku gave Sora a sly smile. "You made a good choice, my friend. I mean, Kairi's a good friend, but she's can be a bit crazy. Tifa's hot, but she seems like the demanding type, which is a big no-no for you. But Rikku's hyper and cheerful, yet not actually crazy in the sense we know! She's perfect for you!"

"You're the crazy one!" Sora yelled, still trying to deny what was obviously true.

Cloud shook his head. "Sora, really, you're a pathetic liar. Why don't you just admit it?"

Sora looked angrily at both Riku and Cloud. Cloud had on his signature indifferent face, and Riku had on that stupid grin. Finally, Sora admitted the truth.

"Alright. Me and Rikku kissed."

"Knew it!" Riku exclaimed, punching the air. "Though it sounds weird like that. Some people might not be able to tell if you mean 'Riku' or 'Rikku.' In that case, always say Rikku's last name!"

Ignoring that last comment, Sora said, "Look guys, just don't tell any of the girls. Please, do a friend a favor."

"I personally don't care," Cloud said. "I'll go ahead and keep your secret."

"And I'll keep it too," Riku began, "just because I'm proud of you for finally having your first kiss."

_Knock! Knock!_

"Come in," Cloud shouted out as he sat on his bed.

The door opened, and the three girls entered. They looked peppy and ready to have one last exciting day in Grome.

"Come on, get ready you guys!" Tifa excitedly said. "Don't you wanna go to Olympus Coliseum!"

"Of course I do!" Riku said happily. "Oh, you guys, you won't believe it! Sora ki-"

Sora immediately jumped into action and knocked Riku to the ground. He jammed Riku's face into the carpet enough to silence him but not to hurt him. Riku's words came out muffled.

"He was going to say that I _killed_ the final boss on my Chain of Memories game! Yeah, it's real exciting!"

Kairi frowned. "Is that all of your exciting news?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Sora said. Riku attempted to lift his head up, but Sora only stuffed it into the carpet again.

"Well, when you guys are done with your bonding time," Rikku said, "Nomura wants us to meet him down in the lobby. Kaykay?"

Sora put on a wide grin. "Got it!"

Rikku returned his smile and hopped away from the room. Kairi and Tifa followed suit.

Finally, Sora let go of Riku's head. Gasping for breath, Riku panted and panted. Sora then delivered a strong punch to Riku's arm.

"Ow!"

"What the hell is wrong with you? Why can't you just keep your promises?"

Riku rubbed the area Sora punched. "All I was going to tell them was that you finally beat the final boss on Chain of Memories!"

"_Sure_ you were," Sora said sarcastically. "You were going to blurt out that I kissed Rikku!"

"Don't say that, that sounds gross!" Riku said with a disgusted face.

"If you two are done now," Cloud interrupted, "I'd like to make my last day in Grome enjoyable. And that's not going to happen if you continue with this incessant bickering."

"Ince-wha?" Riku asked, scratching his head.

Sora looked at Riku with a blazing glare. "How do you get better grades than me?!?"

-II-

Kairi tapped her foot. She was sitting in the lobby area of Roma Hotel, waiting with the girls and Mr. Nomura. They were all waiting for the guys to hurry and get down so that the trip to Olympus Coliseum could finally begin.

"Now what do you suppose is taking those boys so long?" Nomura asked the girls.

Tifa shrugged. "Beats me. When we were up there, Sora was stuffing Riku's face into the carpet, and Cloud was just sitting with his eyes closed. So basically, they were pretty much acting normal."

_Ring!_

Kairi heard a ringing sound coming from Nomura's pocket. Nomura took out his cell phone and answered the call.

"Ah, hello? Oh, yes, hold on a moment."

Nomura put his hand on the speaker and said, "This is an important call. Excuse me for a moment."

Nomura then walked away from the girls, talking about some important matters on his phone.

Kairi looked at Rikku. "What do you suppose Riku was going to say?"

Just as Rikku opened her mouth, Tifa spoke up. "All he said was that Sora beat the final boss on some video game, right?"

Kairi shook her head. "That's what _Sora_ said. But obviously, he made it up in order to hide something Riku was about to say. Why else would he go to great lengths to silence Riku?"

"Because they're boys?" Rikku said with a giggle.

"I don't think so. Riku said, 'You guys won't believe it! Sora ki-'. _Ki-_? What is _ki-_?"

Tifa ran her hand through her hair. "I'd say 'killed,' but you apparently don't think that's it. What else? Kick? Kid? Kiwi?"

Kairi crossed her arms. "I was thinking more along the lines of 'kissed.'"

Tifa blinked. Rikku tried keeping a pokerface, with that childish smile on her face, but Kairi saw her freeze up. Kairi chuckled to herself.

_Gotcha._

Kairi leaned forward, looking deep into Rikku's eyes. "Something you wanna tell us, RikkRikk?"

Rikku looked back at Kairi. Rikku let out a nervous laugh, but Kairi could easily see through the bluff.

"Are you sure it's 'kissed'? Maybe it was actually 'kick.' Maybe Sora tried to hide the fact that he kicked a helpless puppy!"

"Come on. You and I both know how Riku was going to finish that sentence!"

Rikku laughed again and rolled her eyes. "Look, KaiKai, none of us knows what happens in that Riku's head! His head is just a big jumble of girls, sports, and asserting his manliness!"

"What happened between you two?!?" Kairi questioned, her voice getting noticeably more irritated.

"Kairi," Tifa interjected, "don't you think you're acting a bit...well, obsessive?"

"I am NOT OBSESSIVE!!!" Kairi shrieked at the top of her lungs.

The entire lobby grew quiet. Everyone looked at Kairi.

Kairi laughed nervously, waving everyone off. Reacting this much over a simple word was becoming a bit of a problem for her.

"Uh, Rikku, you can just forget about my little episode right there! It's my fault for being bipolar!"

Hastily, Kairi hugged Rikku in a poor attempt to wave off the events of her little interrogation. Rikku, being the friendly and excitable girl of the group, hugged Kairi back happily. "Kaykay, KaiKai!"

As the two hugged, the guys finally came down into the lobby. Sora looked at the two hugging. He then looked at Tifa.

"Did we miss anything interesting?"

Tifa smiled wryly. "You missed _something,_ alright."

"Ah, yes I understand. Very well, goodbye."

Nomura came back to the group, his phone call finished. He smiled sadly at the kids, although it seemed to be mostly directed at Riku.

"Something wrong, Nomura?" Kairi asked.

"That was the Olympians. Unfortunately, most of them can't meet us. Only 3 of the members can make it."

"Who are they?" Sora questioned.

"Uh, Hercules, Apollo and Hermes."

Riku laughed gleefully. "As long as I get to meet Herc, I'm fine with it!"

Nomura beamed. "Great! Let's go!"

"Woot!" Riku whooped as he eagerly dashed to the exit of the hotel.

Tifa jumped up, got behind Cloud and pushed him forward. "Let's go, Cloud! I can't wait to see Olympus Coliseum!"

"Eh."

Rikku gave Sora an evil smile. "Bet I can beat you to the cab!"

"Bet you can't!"

Laughing, Sora gave chase after Rikku. As Kairi watched them, she slowly followed them, trudging her footsteps. She looked to her left. Then she looked to her right. There was no one at her side. She was all by herself. Kairi, the lonely friend of the protagonist.

-III-

Kairi got out of the cab, and looked at the monstrosity before her. It was the legendary Olympus Coliseum, where some of the most magnificating and blood-rushing games of football were played. It was also the home stadium of the Olympians, which was not only the best football team in Grome, but possibly the best football team in the world. That is, according to Riku's point of view.

Riku stared at the Coliseum. His face looked so emotional as tears of joy came to his eyes. "No words...just...worship."

Cloud scoffed. "Riku, you are such a chick for crying like that."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Kairi said as she slapped Cloud on the head. Cloud didn't even so much as move an inch.

"Mmf."

Kairi looked at the Coliseum again. They were all in front of the Coliseum Gate, which was a large brown door. The Gate was simply an enormous wall surrounding the entire Coliseum. Kairi could see the head of a golden statue peeking out from above the walls.

"Well, are we going or not?" Kairi asked as she walked to the Gates.

Riku stopped her in her tracks. "Not so fast. Before we meet the Olympians, I wanna take some pictures to remind me of this glorious moment in my life."

"Hooray, picture time!" Rikku happily exclaimed as she took out a camera.

Nomura chuckled. "You kids give me your cameras, and I'll take the pictures for you."

The first picture had all six kids huddled together in front of the Gates. The girls were kneeling down to the ground, while the guys were standing beside them. All of them, except for Cloud, had on goofy faces.

_Click!_

"Okay, now one of Cloud!"

All but Cloud left the picture scene. He groaned and looked at the camera with a fake smile. To make the picture more lively, Riku jumped in with a silly smile and put his arm around Cloud's neck. Cloud looked annoyed.

_Click!_

"Take one of me and Sora!"

Tifa jumped into the picture, and put her arm around Sora's neck, just like how Riku put his arm around Cloud. She grinned widely at the camera. Sora used his fingers to make rabbit-ears behind Tifa's head.

_Click!_

"My turn with Sora!"

It was now Rikku's turn. She came up to Sora, and they put their backs to each other. They each gave the camera a thumbs-up as they joyfully smiled. Kairi frowned at the two and bit her lower lip.

_Click!_

The two laughed, and Sora looked at Kairi. "Hey Kai, wanna take a pic with me?"

"Forget it! God, you think you're so cool, don't you?"

Sora scratched his neck. "Geez, a simple 'no' would have sufficed."

"Awright, enough with the pics!" Riku said in an outburst. "It's time for us to meet the gods of football!"

Riku went up to the Coliseum Gates' doors, and pushed on them. Although it took a bit of effort, he managed to get it open. The group entered into the Inner Coliseum Gates. The inside was vast and enormous. The space outside the Coliseum was empty, and it seemed like it could hold hundreds of people. Along the sides were enormous posters about past tournaments and upcoming tournaments. Lastly, the entrance to the Coliseum was another large door. To the sides of the doors were several pillars, which were tributes to Greec architecture. But perhaps the most impressive part of the Gates were the two, enormous golden statues welcoming visitors to Olympus Coliseum. The statues seemed to be wearing football uniforms, and they were both reaching up to try and grab a football. The sight was amazing.

"It's so much better in person!" Riku said in awe.

Nomura took out his cell phone, and made another call.

"Ah, hello Hercules. Yes, we're here right now. Okay, you're waiting in the lobby?"

"Lobby lobby lobby!!!" Riku shouted out as he raced to the doors. He opened the doors, and ran inside. Nomura and the others walked to the lobby.

Kairi took a look at the lobby. It was a very large place, but today, it was empty. There were several ticket booths, as well as concession stands and souvenir stands. Along the side of the wall was a colossal trophy case with innumerable trophies, plaques and other rewards.

Riku's eyes darted from left to right. "Where are they?"

As if on cue, three of the best members of the Olympians came into view. Heading them was the famed quarterback of the Olympians, Hercules. He was an extremely muscular man, with broad shoulders and a noticeably thin waist. His rusty-colored hair was pushed back by a headband, except for one bang.

"Welcome, teacher! Welcome, Islanders to Olympus Coliseum!"

"Football!!!" Riku yelled out randomly as he ran to Hercules and his Olympians. He then immediately fell to his knees.

"You...are...gods!"

The man known as Apollo chuckled as he lifted Riku to his feet. Apollo was a dark-skinned man with broad shoulders and large muscles not unlike Hercules. He was vital to the team, being one of the offensive tackles. His long, wavy hair was held together in a ponytail.

"Little man, we're just ordinary people who play ordinary games of football. You just remember that."

Riku nodded. The other man, known as Hermes, let out an odd chuckle.

"Ah, football. A game of life, a game of passion. Saying that there is no meaning to life is like saying there is no meaning to football."

Hermes was a man of average height, and did not have nearly as much muscle as Hercules or Apollo. He had short, black hair, and his skin had a kind of bluish glow to it. However, any good fan of the Olympians knew it was not a good idea to underestimate Hermes. He was one of the quickest wide receivers in the entire world.

Hercules patted Riku on the shoulder. "Son, it's always a pleasure to meet our biggest fans. But first, I'd like to know your name, as well as everyone else's."

"O-of course! I'm Riku! You probably know about my teacher, Mr. Nomura. The spiky haired kid is Sora, the gloomy blonde dude is Cloud, the redhead is Kairi, the brunette is Tifa, and the spunky blonde girl is Rikku with two k's!"

"Hmm," Hercules said in thought, "Riku. Where have I heard that name before? Riku..."

Kairi looked boredly around the lobby. She was not really a fan of football, and had only come here to observe the Coliseum.

Rikku was looking at the food at one of the concession stands. She beckoned for Sora to go to her. Without a moment to waste, Sora went to Rikku's side.

That jealous, obsessive fury built up within Kairi again. Seeing Sora and Rikku like this was making her boil with anger.

_They're at it again! When are they going to stop?_

"Oh, Wonderboy!"

A voice came from behind Hercules. A woman was walking towards him. She was beautiful, and had long brown hair. Even Kairi had to admit that this woman was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen.

"Ah, Meg!"

Meg came to Hercules's side and hugged him. Hercules introduced her to the group.

"Everyone, this is my girlfriend, Megara. She's the coach's daughter."

Riku guffawed. "Leave it to Herc to get a beautiful woman like this!"

Meg smiled at the comment. She then turned her sights on Hercules. "Wonderboy, I was wondering if you perhaps wanted to catch a movie or something tomorrow?"

"Sorry Meg, but I got an autograph signing tomorrow. Maybe some other time."

Meg pouted. "But-"

"Sorry, Meg. I gotta do what's right for the fans."

As if completely ignoring Meg, Riku whipped out a football (which seemed to come out of absolutely nowhere) and a pen. "Herc! Could ya sign my football? Could ya could ya could ya?"

Hercules laughed. "Sure thing, son!"

Tifa went up to Apollo, and took out a tiny book. "This is my dad's autograph book. He wanted me to get your autograph if I got the chance."

Cloud went to Hermes and took out a card. "I guess I'm somewhat a fan of this football team. If you don't mind, I'd like you to sign this."

Kairi went to go sit on a nearby bench. She was less than satisfied with this day. First, she sees Sora and Rikku getting a bit too close. And now all her other friends were all caught up in the hype of the so-called "world-famous" Olympians. To Kairi, this day felt like a not-so-grand finale.

"Not having fun, little miss?"

Kairi looked up. Meg came to her side and sat beside her.

"Not really. This day isn't turning out so well for me."

Meg sighed. "Yeah, I get what you mean. I actually tend to feel as gloomy as you do on a daily basis."

Kairi looked curiously at Meg. "Why? Isn't dating a famous quarterback great?"

"Dating? How can you call it dating if he won't even spend one minute with me?"

Kairi looked down at her feet. "I guess I understand," she said as she looked at Sora and Rikku. They seemed to be having a lot of fun.

Meg looked at Kairi, then looked at the other two. "Ah, I see."

"You do?"

"Little miss, you think it's tough watching the man you love spending time with one other girl? The man _I_ love is constantly attacked by female fans, and he enjoys every moment of it."

Meg sighed again as she looked at Herc, who was relishing the worship he was getting, even if it was from only three people.

"I guess you can say that I'm the lonely lover of the celebrity."

Kairi picked at her fingernails. "I never wanted to end up in a harem sort of story. It just sort of happened."

"Little miss, if you truly love that boy, you will continue pursuing him, as I pursue Wonderboy. But if you don't truly love him, then you should save yourself the heartbreak and let him go. Let him follow his own path."

Kairi looked at Sora again. He and Rikku were laughing it up. They seemed to be truly in sync.

_Let Sora...go?_

-IV-

The Grome trip is finally over. The following day, the World Cultures Club returned to the Destiny Islands, their Groman venture complete.

Rikku: 60% to Sora's heart

Tifa: 30% to Sora's heart

Kairi: 10% to Sora's heart

----------End----------

Destiny Academy: A prestigious academy located on Main Island of the Destiny Islands. It offers secondary education, for grades 9-12. All the main characters of the story attend this school.

**-Finally got this up. Hooray for Kingdom Hearts, I really hope Kingdom Hearts Coded comes to America. R&R.-**


	18. Memories of Childhood Lost

_Riku: Geez, Kairi, you're the main character of the chapter again?_

_Sora: Let someone else be the main for the change! The story is __**Sora**__ 100 Percent__!_

_dude overdrived: You may be the main character, but you're not the only one._

_Kairi: Yeah! So be quiet and let me do my thing!_

----------Beginning----------

**Chapter 17: Memories of Childhood Lost**

_Sunday..._

It was Sunday morning. In a few days, it would be the beginning of December, and that much closer to a white Christmas. It was beginning to get a little chilly in the Destiny Islands. It never snowed in the Destiny Islands, though the cold easily discouraged anyone from wearing shorts and a t-shirt outside.

"Kairi! Breakfast!"

Kairi did not even hear her mother calling for her. Kairi had isolated herself in her room, barely making any contact with the outside world. This had actually been happening for the past week, the week after she and the others got back from Grome. During that week, she did not make any contact with any of her friends. And even during Thanksgiving at the Dawson family reunion, she kept to herself and barely talked. The reason? Those words that Meg, Hercules's girlfriend, said to Kairi kept repeating themselves in Kairi's head.

_"Little miss, if you truly love that boy, you will continue pursuing him, as I pursue Wonderboy. But if you don't truly love him, then you should save yourself the heartbreak and let him go. Let him follow his own path."_

The boy Meg was talking about? Who else but Sora Keiman. Sora, a friend of Kairi's from childhood. She eventually found that she was immensely attracted to him. But recently, she began to question the true bounds of her feelings.

_"If you truly love that boy, you will continue pursuing him."_

_"If you don't truly love him, then you should save yourself the heartbreak and let him go."_

Kairi looked to her nightstand. On it was a picture of her, Sora, and Riku. Riku was behind the two of them, playfully putting his hand on both of their heads. Kairi seemed to be laughing. Sora's mouth was open, as if he was about to yell at Riku when the picture was taken.

"If I truly love Sora, I'll continue pursuing him? But if I don't, I should save myself the heartbreak?"

Kairi groaned and slumped back into bed. She had no idea how to decipher her own feelings.

"I know that I do love him. But do I love him enough to matter? Is it true love, like soul mate love? Or is it toned down love, like that of a teenage girl's crush? Or...am I just jealous of Rikku and Tifa?"

Kairi immediately shook the thought away. "No, it's not jealousy. But then what is it?"

"Kairi, I said it's time for breakfast!"

Now Kairi heard it. She jumped up from bed and hastily fixed her clothing. "Coming!"

-I-

Kairi walked down the hallway to the dining room. Her mother and father were sitting beside each other at the table. There were several plates on the table, filled with fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, and light blueberry pancakes with syrup. Kairi's parents had coffee mugs in their hands.

"Morning, mom. Morning, dad."

"Morning, hon," Kairi's mom said. Kairi's mother was a beautiful woman, with long, red hair styled in a ponytail. It was easy to see where Kairi got her looks from.

"Mornin', muffin," Kairi's dad said. Kairi's father was a handsome man, having a good build and tall height. He was also a very tough man. It was easy to see where Kairi got her toughness from.

Kairi sat down and quietly added food to her plate. As she nibbled on a piece of bacon, she looked at her parents. Mom was blowing on her coffee to cool it down. Dad was drinking from his mug and reading the newspaper.

"Um, guys? Can I talk to you about some girl stuff?"

Dad coughed on his drink. He quickly folded the newspaper and put it under his arm. He then stood up from the table and took his mug and plate with him.

"Um, honey, your mother can talk to you about 'girl stuff.' It was one of our vows, that she would do all the talking with you."

"We did not vow on that," Mom said with a scoff.

"Well, your mother probably knows more than I do. I'll see you when you're done with your talk."

With that, Dad quickly walked out of the dining room and went to the den. He turned on the local news.

Mom smiled at Kairi. "Alright, Kai. What do you want to talk about?"

Kairi sighed. "What's love?"

Mom chuckled. It was a question that she had been preparing for years to answer.

"Love...is many things. It is a word that frees us from the stress and burdens of life. It is friendship set ablaze. It is the desire to be desired. The one true adventure of life, far more exciting than any hike or expedition. But the meaning I believe in the most is that it is the thing that reveals your true self. The one thing that gets your soul to come out from hiding."

_My true self...have I discovered anything new about myself since I found out I loved him?_

"Why ask?" Mom said, cooing. "Has my little girl found love?"

Kairi turned red. She did not want her parents to find out who she potentially was in love with. "N-no mom, it's not like that."

"Is it Sora?"

Kairi grew flustered. "W-what?!? No, of course not!"

"Oh, Kairi dear, it's okay to admit it! Sora is a wonderful young man!"

"I agree!" Dad called out from the nearby den. "He's a good kid!"

"If you want to join in on the talk, you can just come back in here!" Mom called out to Dad.

"I'm good!"

Mom turned back to Kairi. "Is it true, sweetie? Is it Sora?"

"Mom, I really need your help. How can you tell the difference between true love or a crush?"

Mom blinked. "Kairi, dear, is it really that hard for you to tell the difference?"

"Yes it is!" Kairi whined. "I came to you for help, not criticism."

Mom nodded and folded her hands. "Yes, I understand. Well, let's start off with this. How do you feel when you are around Sor- er, this boy?"

Kairi thought for a moment. "Well...I really enjoy being around Sor- er, this guy. He's really fun, and a great friend. I can't imagine a life without him."

Mom nodded. "Mhm. To me, this sounds like you're talking about him more like a best friend, not someone you truly truly love. Maybe it's just friendship you're misinterpreting as a crush."

"But I want him. I want him to hold me close and tell me how he really feels about me. I want him, I really do."

"Then maybe it is love. A bit obsessive love."

Kairi prevented herself from yelling at her mother. "But, then what if I just like him 'cause other people like him too? What if it is just a crush?"

"Then maybe it's a crush."

Kairi groaned. "Mom, you're just making me go back and forth and back and forth! A little advice would be helpful right now!"

"Well, the road to an answer can be long and exhausting, both physically and mentally. That's why we can't just skip ahead to the answer. We have to retrace steps and start from the beginning, to make sure no important detail is left forgotten."

"Start from the beginning?" Kairi repeated.

Mom smiled at her daughter. "Yes, from the beginning. We have all day to do this, so why don't you start off telling me about when you first started feeling for this boy, or even better, when you first met?"

Kairi thought back to her past. Although she was very young when she first met this boy, she could remember all the adventures she had with him clearly...

-II-

_Yawn!_

Little Kairi tiredly opened her eyes. Stretching her arms, she sat up in her pink bed. As she was very young, Kairi did not have her own room, as she was currently too afraid to be by herself. After all, the scary monsters of the dark might take her away. So for the meantime, she was sleeping in her parents' room with her teddy bear, right beside their bed. When she woke up, she expected to see her parents still sleeping in their bed. However, when she peered up at the large bed, they were not there.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Kairi got out of bed, hugging her teddy bear close to her. She went out the door and walked down the hallway. She still did not see any of her parents.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

Kairi continued walking, and soon left the hallway and entered the kitchen. There, a happy surprise awaited her.

"Happy birthday, Kairi!" her parents simultaneously yelled.

Kairi squealed with delight and ran to her parents. She hugged both her mother and father. Beside them was a big chocolate ice cream cake, Kairi's favorite. Kairi squealed again at the thought of having the cake in her mouth.

"You 'membered!" Kairi said happily.

"Of course! It's not every day my little girl turns 5-years-old!" Dad exclaimed as he hugged Kairi again.

"I wanna eat cake!"

"Hold on, Kairi. Don't you want to open...your present?" Mom suggested as she whipped out a large box wrapped in gift wrap.

Kairi shrieked with excitement. "Present, present!"

Mom placed the present at Kairi's feet. But as Kairi was about to claw her hands into the gift wrap, Mom stopped her.

"Hold on, let's take a picture first!"

Dad took out a camera and got beside Mom. Kairi and her present got in front of them. They smiled as Dad held out the camera far enough to take a picture of all of them.

"Cheese!"

_Snap!_

"Okay, now open it!"

Not wanting to wait any longer, Kairi ripped her hands into the wrapping and tore it away. She bleated exuberantly upon seeing the present box.

"The Disney Princesses doll play set!"

"Yep! We know how much you wanted it!"

Grateful, Kairi hugged her parents all the more warmer. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

_Ding-dong!_

"I wonder who that could be?" Mom went over to the front door to open it. When she opened it, she saw two young boys standing outside the door.

"Hello, lady!" one of the boys, a brown-haired boy greeted.

"Don't say that, Sora. Hello, _ma'am_," the second boy, a silver-haired boy, greeted more politely.

"Why hello, and just who might the two of you be?" Mom asked, bending down to the boys' level.

"I'm Sora," the brown-haired boy said.

"And I'm Riku," the silver-haired boy said.

"Who is it, hon?" Dad called out.

"It's two young boys. They seem nice."

"_I'm _nice," Sora said. "But Riku can act like a butthead sometimes."

"You're talking about yourself, smart one," Riku retorted.

"Hey, maybe some cake will make you two more friendly with each other," Mom suggested.

"Cake? Okay!" Sora eagerly said, hopping up and down.

"Sure, some cake would be good," Riku complied.

"Well, come on in. My little girl's birthday is today."

Sora and Riku walked into the house. Kairi stood up and ran to them.

"Hello!"

"You must be Kairi, the new girl," Sora stated. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Sora."

"Hello, Sora," Kairi said, laughing. Sora smiled, laughing as well.

Riku cleared his throat. "There's someone else here."

Kairi blinked and looked at Riku. "Oh, sorry!"

"It's okay. I'm Riku."

"You guys wanna eat some cake with me?" Kairi questioned.

"Yeah!" the two guys replied. Kairi laughed again. It seemed like the three of them could be good friends.

-

"Mommy, can me and my new friends eat in the backyard?" Kairi asked her mother.

"Sure thing," Mom agreed, opening the back door for her.

Happily, the three kids, with their plates of cake, went into the nice and cool backyard. Kairi's dad pouted.

"I wanted to take some more pictures," Dad protested.

"Oh, let her play with her new friends. They're the first two to actually try to be friends with her."

The three of them sat on the ground. Kairi dug her fork into her cake and took a bite, with Sora and Riku doing the same.

"How you guys know who I am, anyway?"

Riku gulped down his bite of cake. "This is a small island. Everyone knows who everyone is, and they also know the new people who come in."

"But aren't we on the Main Island? Why aren't there more people here?" Kairi asked.

"Because more people enjoy the other islands, like Domingo and Tierra," Sora spoke up. "I think that more people will come here when the new amusement park-thingy opens up."

"Yay, amusement park!" Kairi whooped. "They're fun!"

"Yeah, like those awesomes roller coasters! They're, like, so cool!" Sora exclaimed.

"But Sora, we're too young to go on coasters!" Riku announced.

"I know! That's why when we go in line, we get _huuuuge_ shoes and fill the insides with sponges or something so's that we look taller!"

Kairi burst into laughter. "That's so funny!"

"Funny? But I'm being serious!"

This only made Kairi laugh harder. "Hahahahahaha!!!"

Riku chortled as well, wiping a tear from his eye. "Sora, stop before you make her throw up."

"But I'm totally serious! And if that doesn't work, we can probably get a huge trench coat and stand on each other's shoulders so we look like an adult!"

Kairi cracked up and fell backward, laughing harder than she had ever laughed before.

"Guys, I'm being completely ser-"

Riku put his hand over Sora's mouth and pushed him down.

"Okay, that's enough. I think she about to die."

Her laughter finally dying off, Kairi sat back up and finished with a few giggles.

"Sora, you're a funny guy!"

"Yeah, that's why I'm cooler than Riku!"

Riku ignored the comment. "You know Kairi, your mom is really pretty."

"I knows, I want to be as pretty as her when I grow up!"

Riku chuckled. "I wish she would tuck _me_ in at night."

Sora playfully pushed Riku. "You're acting like one of those weird teens on the those funny bath operas."

"You mean soap operas?" Riku clarified.

"You guys are the awesomest friends ever," Kairi proclaimed. Kairi had not had much contact with very many other kids, at least not since she was a baby in daycare. It made her ecstatic to be with other kids her age.

"Are you guys best friends?"

"Yeah! Me and Riku are like this," Sora said, folding his hands together.

"Sora's weird, but I still let him be my friend." Suddenly, Riku gripped his stomach. "Aw, the cake is making me feel funny."

"Maybe you have to go poop?" Kairi proposed.

"Maybe." Riku then got up and ran into the house. It was now just Sora and Kairi in the backyard.

Kairi went and sat closer to Sora. Sora grinned.

"You're the first girl I ever talked to. Other than my mom."

Kairi giggled. "I've talked to other guys before you. But I like you better."

Sora widened his eyes, albeit comically. "You _like_ me?"

"Not like that, silly!" Kairi said with a laugh. "I'm too young to like other guys."

"But _I_ like other girls!"

Now it was Kairi who widened her eyes. "You like girls?!? But you're only 5!"

"You're never too young to like people. Jus ask Riku, he know all about it!"

Kairi thought in awe about her new discovery. "I can't believe it. You can be 5, and it's okay to like guys?"

"Fo you. Fo me, it's girls."

Kairi snickered. "Hey, Sora. Do you like me?"

"Huh?" Sora raised his eyebrow. "Uh, yeah! I like you!"

"Really? Then I like you too!" Kairi bellowed.

The two of them convulsed in laughter, happy that they liked each other. But since they were young, they did not grasp the true meaning of "liking" someone. But still, it was a start, right?

-

And eventually, in a little over a year, Kairi had to move away from the islands. She was forced to leave behind Sora and Riku, who she knew she would miss dearly. But as she turned 6, she noticed that she would miss Sora most of all. Although she no longer thought about him that much, she still thought about him occasionally. Everytime she thought of him, she would wonder what he was doing. Was he still friends with Riku? Was he dating anyone? These questions flooded her head everytime Sora ran across her mind.

And then the day came in the summer when her father announced that they would be moving back to the Destiny Islands, only this time, it would be permanent.

Kairi had smiled upon hearing the news. "Sora..."

-III-

"I may have forgotten about a lot of things, but I doubt I'll forget those memories of my childhood. They'll stay a part of me, forever."

Mom listened in on Kairi's story thoughtfully. "Ah, the memories are the key."

Kairi looked at her mother questioningly. "The memories are the key?"

"Now that you told me this, I have deduced two possible answers."

"But mom, that just brings us back to square one!" Kairi whined, unhappy that her reminiscing didn't help in the slightest bit.

"But one of the answers is different. The first possible answer: you love him."

"The obvious one," Kairi grumbled.

"And the second: you long for your childhood."

Kairi blinked. "My childhood? But I'm just a teenager."

"Exactly. A teenager with teenager stress and angst. This is why you look to your childhood to reminisce about those stress-free days. You long for the happy-go-lucky person you once were. And Sora is the link to that childhood."

Kairi was surprised. The path to the answer was exactly how her mother had described it. A very tough road to a very tough answer. But now the tough trek was almost over. She was now left at a fork in the road. She would just have to decide which was correct.

"Mom, you've helped me through this road. And now I'm left with two simple possibilities. Is there anything you can do to help me find the correct one?"

Mom sadly shook her head. "I'm sorry, Kai. You're going to have to find the answer for yourself. Are you in love with Sora? Or are you simply the best of friends?"

Kairi had a big decision to make. Was she going to allow Sora to go his own way? Or was she going to allow this harem to continue?

-IV-

As soon as he got that phone call, Sora rushed over to Kairi's house. He had gotten very worried about Kairi during the past week. She did not make any contact with him or any of their other friends. The phone call that came that day was the wake-up call he needed to finally man up and go see her.

-

"Hello, Sora?"

"Kairi! I was getting worried about you!"

"Oh, you were?"

"Course I was! I haven't heard from you in a week! I wanted to go to your house before, but I had this strange feeling that you wouldn't want me there..."

"Well, that's the exact opposite of what I want right now. Can you please come over here?"

"I'm already out my door!"

-

When Sora finally reached Kairi's house, he panted and panted as he rang the doorbell. But as soon as the door opened, he stopped panting and stood up straight. Kairi answered the door. She gave him a small smile.

"Hey, Sora."

"Uh, hey! Kairi, I'm glad to see you!"

Kairi nodded. "Come on inside."

Sora went into the girl's house. He had not been there in a while. Though everytime he went in, he would remember the day he first met Kairi, when they had cake and talked out in the backyard.

Kairi went to the refrigerator and took out a tray. "Sora, I was thinking that we should eat some cake."

Sora could not help but let out a light snort. "Kairi, don't you remember what happened the _last_ time you offered me cake? Do you really want to go through the post-cake awkwardness again?"

"Don't worry, it's not paopu fruit cake this time." Kairi took the foil off of the tray. In the tray was a fluffy brown cake with white lining.

Sora knew what kind of cake it was. "Is that...chocolate ice cream cake?"

Kairi beamed. "You look surprised."

"Well, just seeing that cake in this room, it makes me think about when we were younger and-"

Before Sora could continue talking, Kairi abruptly handed him a plate. "Come on. Let's eat it in the backyard."

-

Sora and Kairi sat down on the ground. Sora dug his fork into his cake and took a bite. Kairi did the same.

Sora looked around the backyard. Memories of childhood lost came flowing back into his mind. They were his first memories of Kairi. Memories of that day when she so nicely offered them cake despite meeting them for the first time that day. Memories of Riku having that awkward bowel movement. Memories of them telling each other that they...that they...what was it?

"Roller coasters," Kairi said suddenly.

Sora looked at Kairi oddly. He was not sure why she had said that. Then that funny memory came back into his mind as well.

"Oh, yeah. If we're too short to go on the roller coaster, then we should stand on each other's shoulders and wear a huge trench coat to make it look like we're one adult."

Kairi smiled warmly. "So you remember that day, too."

"Of course I remember it. That was the day I met you."

"Do you remember _everything? _Do you remember what we told each other?"

Sora frowned, upset that he couldn't remember. "I...faintly remember us telling each other something. But I just can't seem to remember what."

Kairi forcefully took Sora's plate from his hand and placed it on the ground beside her plate.

"Hey, I was eating-"

All of a sudden, Kairi pushed Sora down. This caught Sora off guard. He was about to yell, but was instantly quieted by what Kairi did next.

With Sora lying down, Kairi went on top of him and basically straddled him. She stared into his eyes expectantly. Sora felt his heart rate quicken.

"U-uh, Kairi, w-what are you-"

"I have to do this, Sora. I have to know the truth behind my precious feelings."

Kairi leaned down, her eyes still staring deep into Sora's eyes. Sora himself was not sure what was going to happen...

-

And in the blink of an eye, tender lips touched. Two souls had just made intimate contact for the very first time.

Kairi fought. She fought for the truth. And she knew that in that kiss lied the truth.

The intimacy was an intense feeling of bliss. It made Kairi feel like she was the only woman left in the world, and Sora was the only man left in the world. And that was a good sign.

As Sora and Kairi kissed, she imagined the two of them alone in a room. The two of them were surrounded by waves of memories of childhood lost. The two, the kiss and the memories, coexisted peacefully within Kairi's heart.

Finally, Kairi pulled away from Sora. Refreshed, she looked up at the sunny sky.

"There was a third path in the fork."

She looked down at Sora. He still appeared a little shocked by what just happened, but he also looked like he was expecting something else to happen.

Kairi grinned. She then lay down on Sora and hugged him.

"I love you, Sora."

----------End----------

**-Sorry about this late update. Been a little busy with some final projects for school. The next chapter or two will be Christmas themed. R&R.-**


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